BOSTON – A former owner of a Malden chiropractic practice pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Boston today to filing fraudulent personal federal tax returns and attempting to obstruct the IRS.
Paul E. Jondle, 61, of Salem, N.H., pleaded guilty to an indictment charging him with three counts of tax evasion and one count of obstructing the IRS. U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton scheduled sentencing for Jan. 29, 2016.
Jondle operated a Malden chiropractic practice called Future Health. Jondle, who was barred from working as a chiropractor, used the names and tax identification numbers of licensed chiropractors working at Future Health for billing purposes, causing the insurance company payors to report the payments to the Internal Revenue Service as income to Jondle’s subcontractors. In fact, the payments, mailed to Jondle and deposited into bank accounts that he controlled, were income to Jondle. From 2003 through 2007, Jondle deposited approximately $3 million into his bank accounts, yet he reported no taxable income for those years, and paid no federal income taxes. During those years, Jondle spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on personal expenses including mortgage payments on his home, landscaping, tuition payments and pet spas.
The charge of tax evasion provides for a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of obstructing the IRS provides for a sentence of no greater than three years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston, made the announcement today. Assistance was provided by the Massachusetts Insurance Fraud Bureau; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and the U.S. Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lori J. Holik and Rachel Y. Hemani of Ortiz’s Major Crimes Unit and Trial Attorney Jason M. Scheff of the Department of Justice’s Tax Division.