Chiropractor sentenced in federal court

Richard Gilbert, of Hodgenville, was sentenced to 37-months imprisonment Monday for one count of tax evasion and one count of impeding and obstructing the Internal Revenue Service.

According to U.S. Attorney David J. Hale of the Western District of Kentucky, Gilbert was convicted after a five-day jury trial on May 15 on both counts of an indictment that charged him with one count of tax evasion and one count of impeding and obstructing the Internal Revenue Service in violations of Title 26, United States Code, Sections 7201 and 7212(a). 

Evidence was presented that Gilbert owed about $227,000 in federal income taxes for 1999 through 2003 due to his failure to file returns for those years. After penalties and interest, Gilbert owed about $316,742.83 to the Internal Revenue Service.

According to the statement, Gilbert committed multiple acts to avoid paying these federal income taxes. For example, Gilbert titled his Hodgenville home in the name of a bogus trust in order to conceal his ownership and control of the property. In addition, while operating his chiropractic business, Gilbert refused to accept payments by check from insurance companies in order to avoid IRS Form 1099's being filed with the IRS. Gilbert also filed a number of documents with the State of Kentucky and with the IRS that made it fraudulently appear as if liens were on his assets, when in fact this was not true. Gilbert also mailed fraudulent bills of exchange, which appeared to be checks, to the IRS in attempts to fraudulently induce the IRS to accept them as payment. While dealing with the IRS Collections Division, Gilbert concealed his bank accounts by wrongfully stating he did not use bank accounts, when in truth he had three open bank accounts. Gilbert also used a bank account that was in the name of a trust to pay his personal living expenses. Gilbert also fraudulently returned several documents to the IRS that he stamped with words to the effect that his tax obligations had been taken care of, when in truth this was not the case.  

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. States Attorneys Bryan R. Calhoun and Joshua Judd and it was investigated by the IRS, Criminal Investigations.