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Press Release

Former Chiropractor Sentenced To Federal Prison For Lengthy Tax Fraud Scheme After Being Arrested In Panama And Returned To The United States

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Louisiana

BATON ROUGE, LA – Acting United States Attorney Corey Amundson announced today that STEVEN F. ANGLE, age 61, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Shelly D. Dick to two years in federal prison for filing false tax returns and obstruction of the Internal Revenue laws.  ANGLE was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $129,000 and a fine of $50,000.

 

ANGLE owned and operated Chiropractic Nutrition Clinic located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for approximately 20 years.  ANGLE provided chiropractic services to clients and was paid primarily by health insurance companies and law firms.  From 2005 through 2009 and again from 2011 through 2013, ANGLE filed false federal income tax returns in which he reported no income or far less income than he actually earned.  In 2011, for instance, ANGLE reported only $26 in total income.  In 2012, he reported zero dollars in total income, although he actually earned at least $108,000 that year.  Throughout all of the false tax returns, ANGLE consistently represented that he owed no taxes, and he filed fraudulent 1099-MISC forms that had been altered to reflect no income, when, in fact, ANGLE was earning substantial income from his business. 

 

ANGLE was indicted by a federal grand jury in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in June of 2016.  By that time, ANGLE was living in Panama.  In late 2016, ANGLE was arrested by Panamanian authorities and deported to Florida.  In January of 2017, ANGLE made his initial appearance in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, at which time he was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshals and ordered to be transferred to Baton Rouge to face the charges pending here.

 

Acting U.S. Attorney Amundson stated, “Tax fraud is a serious crime that deprives valuable government programs out of needed resources and hurts all honest taxpayers.  We will continue to work closely with IRS-CI and the FBI to aggressively pursue those who would cheat our tax system.”

 

This investigation was handled by the Criminal Investigations Division of the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with valuable assistance from the United States Marshals Service.  This matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys J. Brady Casey and Rene Salomon.

Updated September 29, 2017

Topic
Tax