United States Attorney
Northern District of Texas

1100 Commerce St., 3rd Fl.
Dallas, Texas 75242-1699

Telephone (214) 659-8600
Fax (214) 767-0978

PHYSICIAN SENTENCED TO 46 MONTHS
ON FEDERAL TAX CONVICTION

United States Attorney Richard B. Roper announced that Stephen P. Miller, who was convicted by a federal jury in July on one count of tax evasion, was sentenced today to 46 months imprisonment and 3 years supervised release. United States District Judge Mary Lou Robinson also ordered that Miller pay $968,836.27 in restitution. Miller, age 68, is a physician who practiced medicine at Baptist Hospital in Amarillo in 1999 and 2000. Evidence at trial also showed that he practiced medicine in Wellington and Brownsville, Texas. Judge Robinson ordered that Dr. Miller surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on October 23, 2006.

The government presented evidenced at trial that Dr. Miller entered into a scheme with Charles Matich beginning in 1996 to use limited liability companies and sham trusts to conceal income and move it offshore. Most of the money was moved through Charles Matich to the Channel Islands which is a British Territory. Charles Matich is a cooperating defendant awaiting sentencing in his own tax case in San Diego, California. In 1998, Miller had outstanding IRS assessments against him for the 1992-1993 tax years, and was being audited for the 1995-1996 tax year. Fearing that the IRS would seize his IRA valued at approximately $1,000,000.00, he cashed in the IRA in three transactions occurring in 1999. The money was sent to Charles Matich to hold in accounts offshore for Miller.

At trial, Matich testified that he invested Miller's money along with some of his own in Nassau. In March 2000, Miller sent an Offer in Compromise to the IRS offering to settle his outstanding IRS debt of approximately $140,000.00 for $7500.00. Dr. Miller stated the reason for the Offer in Compromise was that, due to his age and unavailability of assets, he would never be able to satisfy his tax liabilities. The offer was returned by the IRS to Dr. Miller in November 2000 due to lack of documentation

U.S. Attorney Roper praised the investigative efforts of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). Assistant United States Attorney Vicki Lamberson of the Amarillo, Texas, United States Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case.

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