April 28, 2015

Palm Beach County Gastroenterologist Sentenced for His Role in an Income Tax Fraud Scheme

Dr. Krishna Tripuraneni, 56, of Palm Beach County, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Court Judge Darrin P. Gayles to two years in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release and two hundred hours of community service, for his participation in an income tax fraud scheme.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, and John F. Khin, Special Agent in Charge, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Southeast Field Office, made the announcement.

Tripuraneni had previously pleaded guilty to one count of filing false tax returns, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Section 7206(1).

According to court documents, Tripuraneni, a physician licensed in the State of Florida who specializes in the field of Gastroenterology, filed fraudulent income tax returns. Tripuraneni’s primary place of business is Palm Beach Gastroenterology Consultants LLC (“PBGC”), Wellington, Florida. Tripuraneni also operates two other businesses from this same address, identified as Palm Beach Surgery Center (“PBSC”) and PB Anesthesia Associates, LLC (“PBA”). Tripuraneni is the listed owner of record of PBGC and the Manager and Registered Agent for PBSC and PBA in Florida Corporate records.

For the tax years 2004 to 2008, Tripuraneni knowingly and willfully underreported his income from the above mentioned entities. Tripuraneni received income in the form of direct compensation, distributions, and corporate funds and used these payments to cover personal expenditures. This resulted in the filing of false corporate and personal tax returns by Tripuraneni.

Tripuraneni utilized funds from the above companies to pay for expenses related to a new home that he built in Manalapan, Florida, payments on condominiums that he had purchased, interior design improvements to his residences, and tuition payments for his children. Some of these payments were then fraudulently classified as professional consulting, building repairs, and miscellaneous expenses by the referenced companies.

These falsified profit and loss statements, which included the improper payments, were used by a tax preparer to file Tripuraneni’s corporate and personal income tax returns. Tripuraneni caused the preparation and filing of a false 2006 U.S. Income Tax Return for an S Corporation, IRS Form 1120S; a U.S. Return of Partnership Income, IRS Form 1065 and a U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, IRS Form 1040. These returns were false in that the corporate returns included fraudulent business expenses which reduced the corporations’ income and failed to include the diverted corporate income and to correctly report the defendant’s share of the income generated by these companies, thereby understating the defendant’s total income and the tax due and owing on his personal return.

The false returns resulted in the following misrepresentations and outstanding taxes:

Tax Year  Underreported Income Outstanding Taxes
2004    $3,256,616      $1,139,815
2005 $3,940,641  $1,369,581
2006  $4,158,162   $1,533,048
2007    $3,688,283     $1,291,940
2008  $3,084,364      $1,049,593
TOTAL   $18,128,066        $6,383,977


Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the IRS-CI, FBI and DCIS.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Clark.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.