US doctor sentenced to jail over Jersey tax cheat

An anesthesiologist from Pennsylvania described as a "long-time tax cheat" has been jailed in the US for dodging nearly $1m in taxes by hiding money in Jersey and creating a fake church in Nevada.
US District Judge Arthur Schwab imposed a 30-month sentence on Dr. James G. Allen Jr., 54, who was prosecuted by the tax division of the Justice Department.
Allen, who pleaded guilty to filing 16 false returns for himself and his wife, also an anesthesiologist, had followed the teachings of "Cracking the Code" by tax protester Peter Hendrickson. The book advocates the idea that money earned for services is not taxable.
The defendant is a highly educated man who knew that the law required him to report all the income"
"The defendant is a highly educated man who knew that the law required him to report all the income that he and his wife received for their work as anesthesiologists," said prosecutors Melissa Siskin and Carl Brooker in sentencing papers.
The criminal division of the IRS said Allen also took steps to conceal the couple's assets and income, such as depositing money in an account in Jersey, buying $92,000 in cryptocurrency and $296,000 in gold and wiring money to Colombia to buy a house there.
The most elaborate of his tax ruses, however, was setting up the ‘Kenpo Unification Church' in Nevada in 2004, for which he registered a vehicle, premises, and bank account.
As part of Allen's sentence, he will be on supervised release for one year after his prison sentence. He must also pay a $10,000 fine and restitution amounting to $1,084,658.58. Charges against Allen were filed in April 2019.
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