Prosecutor asks for jail time in tax evasion case
A federal prosecutor has asked a judge to sentence a Rices Landing optometrist to prison for tax evasion during a hearing that was scheduled for Thursday.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Hull wrote that Dr. David P. Alan “was obsessed with not having to pay any taxes on his income.”
Alan, 65, runs offices in Waynesburg, Connellsville, and Masontown. Prosecutors alleged he failed to pay the complete amount of taxes he owed between 2000 and 2004, using an offshore company to hide money. Earlier this year, he pleaded guilty to a single count of tax evasion, and in court filings this month, Alan’s attorney asked U.S. District Judge Alan N. Bloch to consider a sentence that does not involve prison time. A presentence report recommended between 18 and 24 months in prison.
Hull, however, argued in a filing Tuesday that Alan was “obsessed” with not having to pay taxes on his income, researched how to avoid doing so and knew that what he was doing was illegal and a “deliberate, calculated attempt to evade paying taxes.”
“Dr. Alan had a lucrative practice that afforded him wealth that permitted him to have purchased a car collection of eight sports cars (including a Porsche and two Ferraris), jewelry, and a condo in Florida while he did not pay his fair share of income taxes,” Hull wrote.
“All the while, he did not have any need to cheat on his taxes. These circumstances suggest a pattern of fraud, greed and disrespect for the law by Dr. Alan for at least the five-year period from 2000 through 2005.”
While Alan asked that his good works and dozens of letters in his favor garner him leniency, Hull asked Bloch to consider other qualities.
Hull wrote that Alan denied having ownership of the shell corporation in a legal document filed in 2005. Alan also sued a former office manager for allegedly disclosing confidential information, which he believed led to the IRS investigation. Hull also claimed that Alan forced employees to file fake criminal complaints against former employees.
“While Dr. Alan has presented letters from patients and current employees to foster and promote the notion that he is an asset to the community, Dr. Alan is not as kindly of an employer or member of the community as he presents,” Hull wrote.
Authorities charged Alan failed to pay $221,971 in taxes between 2001 and 2004. He has repaid the back taxes, and with penalties and interest, has paid $620,000, according to filings from his attorney, Thomas Farrell.
Alan recently wrote a letter to Bloch that said he listened to “charlatans” who offered ways to avoid paying taxes, and inherited an anti-government sentiment from his father.
In the letter to U.S. District Judge Alan N. Bloch, Alan wrote that his father was a World War II veteran who “became bitter and felt that he was unfairly deprived of his veterans benefits.”
As he began to earn a good living in his chosen profession, Alan said that he started to resent paying taxes.
“I read and attended seminars by people I now know to be charlatans and came to believe that there was a way to partially avoid the payment of taxes. I sought legal advice and chose attorneys who served my ends,” Alan wrote. “I believe this was all wrong, and now I am ready to face consequences.”
Alan noted in his letter that he believes it would be a hardship on his wife, his employees if he is sent to prison.
Alan’s attorney submitted more than 100 letters written on his behalf by patients who lauded his professional skills, family and friends and colleagues, all of whom asked for leniency.
Employees in his three clinics also wrote letters urging Bloch to sentence with leniency so they can continue with their jobs.
Some of the employees had worked for Alan for more than 20 years.
He was scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday, and information pertaining to the sentencing was not available by the Messenger’s press time for this week’s publication. An update regarding Alan’s sentencing will be published in next week’s Messenger.