Archive for March 5th, 2010

The Federal Government has been increasing its attention on so-called “pill mills,” and the latest to fill the sting of the Government’s efforts is American Pain in Florida.  Agents have raided the offices of American Pain and forfeiture proceedings have begun against the owner of the clinic. Unfortunately for the principals of American Pain, these Government actions are likely only the first of unpleasant moves that they can expect in the near future.

Raided Lake Worth pain clinic handed out 2 million pills in a year – Broward – MiamiHerald.com

The federal government has called American Pain a “pill mill.” But the Lake Worth pain clinic operated more like a factory, churning through 250 patients a day, paying doctors as much as $44,000 a week, and distributing more than two million painkillers in a single year.

Those details are contained in a forfeiture lawsuit the U.S. attorney’s office filed this week seeking to seize three houses from American Pain’s owner, Christopher George. The suit was filed Wednesday, the same day federal agents and local sheriff’s deputies raided American Pain and two other clinics operated by George’s twin brother, Jeffrey.

American Pain is only one of as many as 200 loosely regulated pain clinics now operating in South Florida, making the region the chief supplier of black-market pills for much of the eastern United States. The explosion of clinics — and the coinciding spike in prescription overdose deaths in the state — has prompted lawmakers and law enforcement to begin cracking down on the industry.

In the suit, prosecutors said George has been under investigation on suspicion of drug trafficking and money laundering for 18 months. Investigators said George tried to conceal his role as American Pain’s owner by listing his mother and girlfriend as “straw owners” on corporate records. But George, 29, of Royal Palm Beach, has not been charged with any crimes.

The suit describes American Pain as a massive — and massively lucrative — enterprise, attracting 250 patients a day from Kentucky, Ohio and South Carolina to buy painkillers. Prosecutors described the patients as mules in a drug-running circuit throughout the South: Out-of-state couriers could buy one pill of the painkiller oxycodone at American Pain for $5, and resell the narcotics in their home states for as much as $80 a pill, the suit says.

Investigators tracked 147 cash deposits totaling more than $14 million that flowed through American Pain’s bank accounts in 2009 alone. A George associate told an undercover agent that George was trying to launder as much as $40 million in assets, the suit says.

Neither George nor his lawyer, James Eisenberg, could be reached for comment Thursday. But Eisenberg previously has said that the George brothers broke no laws while running their businesses.

The pain-clinic business was also generous to the five doctors who worked at American Pain: Dr. Cynthia Cadet of Fort Lauderdale; Dr. Jacob Dreszer of Hollywood; Dr. Roni Dreszer of Hollywood; Dr. Michael Aruta of Boca Raton; and Dr. Beau Boshers of Palm Beach Gardens. Combined, they received $5.1 million in payments last year for providing exams and writing prescriptions at the clinic, prosecutors say.

These five doctors ordered more than 2.1 million oxycodone pills in 2009 through American Pain, prosecutors say. All five physicians are among the top 20 doctors who dispensed the most oxycodone in the United States last year, the suit says, citing DEA data.

Prosecutors said they were reviewing allegations that the doctors were paid based on the number of patients they saw. The doctors were not paid employees of the clinic, but were paid as independent contractors, the suit says.

None of the five doctors has ever been disciplined by the state medical board, records show. No doctor would comment for this story.

“There’s an ongoing investigation. I can’t answer those questions,” Boshers told The Miami Herald on Thursday. According to the government’s lawsuit, he ordered 439,599 oxycodone pills in 2009 through American Pain, which paid him $1.2 million.

One of the sadder moments in criminal defense work occurs when a parent is ordered to begin a prison sentence while leaving behind a family.  Even worse is a tax evasion case out of Ireland, where both parents were ordered to serve multi-year prison sentences while leaving behind 10, 16, & 18-year-old children.

Parents jailed for tax fraud – Tax, Money – Belfasttelegraph.co.uk

Two Northern Ireland parents were jailed on Friday 26 February 2010 for evading tax leaving them owing HM Revenue & Customs over £4 million.

Leaving children aged 10, 16 and 18 this should serve as a warning to anyone fiddling their taxes on a large scale. HMRC means business, and having children at home will not keep you out of jail.

Gerry Small (Patrick Gerard Small) of Cullenrammer Road, Dungannon, aged 56 was jailed for 3.5 years after pleading guilty. The judge said this sentence was substantially reduced “as an act of mercy” in the light of Mr Small’s ill-health. Medical evidence pointed to a list of 10 conditions which Mr Small suffered from. Mr Small had tried to pin the blame for the tax offences on Mrs Small – a tactic which the judge described as “dishonest and unedifying”.

Mary Small – his wife of the same address – aged 50 was jailed for 2.5 years. Her sentence was reduced to reflect her prompt guilty plea and the fact that she did not play games with the legal system once she pleaded guilty. (By way of contrast Gerry Small pleaded not guilty, then guilty, then said he wanted to back to not guilty. Finally he abandoned that tactic and so remained at guilty!) The judge acknowledged the difficulty and distress that jailing a mother of a 10-year-old would have, but felt he had no alternative but to send her to jail as well as her husband.

The answer to the question posed in the title of this blog varies depending on a variety of factors, one of which is the “Tax Table” contained in Section 2T4.1 of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.  The Guidelines are advisory only, and there are other factors which a sentencing judge must consider.

The Tax Table can be helpful to assist in determining a potential range of punishment that a judge may consider when sentencing a taxpayer convicted of committing a tax crime.  The table below shows which “offense level” fits based on the amount of “tax loss,” which in and of itself is a sometimes difficult concept to understand.  To analyze where you fit on the Sentencing Guidelines, determine the amount of Tax Loss and find your corresponding Offense Level on the chart below.

Tax Guidelines

§2T4.1. Tax Table

Tax Loss (Apply the Greatest) Offense Level

(A) $2,000 or less 6

(B) More than $2,000 8

(C) More than $5,000 10

(D) More than $12,500 12

(E) More than $30,000 14

(F) More than $80,000 16

(G) More than $200,000 18

(H) More than $400,000 20

(I) More than $1,000,000 22

(J) More than $2,500,000 24

(K) More than $7,000,000 26

(L) More than $20,000,000 28

(M) More than $50,000,000 30

(N) More than $100,000,000 32

(O) More than $200,000,000 34

(P) More than $400,000,000 36.

Once you have determined your Offense Level, review the Sentencing Table below:

U.S. Sentencing Guidelines

The Sentencing Guidelines are only one factor that a sentencing judge will consider before he/she sentences a convicted tax defendant.  An experienced criminal defense attorney can be essential in developing your best approach at a sentencing hearing.  To contact an attorney today to discuss how your actions may impact your range of punishment, contact Norman D. McKellar today at 877-4-TAX-SOS.