Home Philadelphia Press Releases 2009 Surgeon Sentenced to Six Months for Fraud Conspiracy
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Surgeon Sentenced to Six Months for Fraud Conspiracy
Defendant was Part of a $24 Million Tax Obstruction and Evasion Scheme

U.S. Attorney’s Office September 16, 2009
  • Eastern District of Pennsylvania (215) 861-8200

PHILADELPHIA—Dr. John Leichner, 65, of Newtown, PA, was sentenced today to six months in prison for conspiracy to defraud the United States. Leichner, a cardiovascular surgeon, conspired with co-defendant Bernard Bagdis, an attorney from Blue Bell, PA, to defraud the IRS by concealing Leichner’s income during the 1999 through 2005 tax years. According to the indictment, Bagdis and Leichner created various corporations to conceal Leichner’s income and assets. Leichner earned more than $1.25 million from 1999 to 2005, but did not file an income tax return or pay any tax during those years. The court determined that he evaded at least $349,391 in taxes during the prosecution period. He pleaded guilty on July 15, 2008.
 
In addition to the prison term, Leichner was ordered to pay restitution to the IRS of $349,391, pay a fine of $5,000, and spend three years on supervised release.
 
Co-defendants Bernard J. Bagdis, Bertram R. Russell, and Richard J. Frase, were all convicted at trial in April 2009, and are awaiting sentencing. The trio, along with other co-defendants, concealed from the IRS a total of $24 million in income.
 
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the United States Postal Inspection Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys David J. Ignall, Stephen A. Miller, and John Pease, and Trial Attorney Sean O’Connell of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Tax Division.

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