Minnesota Chiropractor Indicted For Tax Evasion

WASHINGTON – A federal grand jury sitting in Minneapolis returned an indictment on Feb. 1, which was unsealed today, charging a chiropractor with one count of tax evasion and one count of passing a fictitious obligation, Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger of the District of Minnesota announced today.

According to the allegations in the indictment, Donald Gibson failed to file federal income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for the years 2004 through 2010 to report his income from his work as a chiropractor.  In May 2012, the IRS informed Gibson that he owed approximately $330,000 in federal income taxes for those years.  Gibson allegedly evaded paying his federal income taxes for 2004 through 2010 by, among other things, cashing his business checks at a check-cashing facility, purchasing money orders and directing his income onto stored-value debit cards.  Gibson is further alleged to have used Sovereign Christian Mission, a nonprofit corporation he registered with the Oregon Secretary of State, to hide his income and pay his personal expenses. The indictment also charges Gibson with submitting a fake bond that he claimed to be valued at $300 million to the Department of the Treasury to pay off his tax liabilities.

If convicted, Gibson faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison for the tax evasion charge and a statutory maximum sentence of 25 years in prison for the passing a fictitious obligation charge. 

An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  The individual charged in the indictment is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.     

Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and U.S. Attorney Luger thanked special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case, and Trial Attorney Ryan R. Raybould of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson of the District of Minnesota, who are prosecuting the case.

Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website

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