More Charges for Greendale Neurosurgeon Who Allegedly Hid $8 Million

A Greendale neurosurgeon is facing additional federal charges that accuse him of conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service, reports the Associated Press.

The article said that Dr. Arvind Ahuja conspired with bankers to conceal foreign bank accounts from the IRS. The indictment alleges Ahuja told bankers he didn't want any mail sent to his homes in Wisconsin and India and wanted to place a hold on all his accounts.

He faces eight counts of tax fraud.

Ahuja's attorney, Dan Webb, said in a statement: “The government’s allegations that Dr. Ahuja has failed to pay tax on interest earned on foreign bank accounts are far off-base, and we will continue to present a vigorous, fact-based defense… The additional charge brought today does not allege that even a single dollar of additional tax is owed.”

Webb says the bank failed to provide the proper documentation to  Ahuja.

“The bank’s failure to issue him any documents that stated his interest income from these accounts directly caused the government’s prosecution,” Webb said. “Dr. Ahuja has paid all U.S. income taxes on all monies deposited into these foreign bank accounts as well as his personal income in the U.S.  The only issue is taxes owed on the interest earned in these foreign bank accounts.”

Ahuja continues to practice medicine.

“These allegations have absolutely nothing to do with Dr. Ahuja’s practice of medicine, and Dr. Ahuja’s primary focus remains on providing his patients with world-class neurosurgical care,” Webb said.

The new conspiracy charge is on top of the existing four charges of filing materially false tax returns and four counts of failing to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts.

He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each of the conspiracy charges. Each charge of filing a false tax return has a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The failure to file charges each carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $500,000 fine. A trial date has not yet been set.