Krishnaswami Sriram, Tax Evasion, Illinois 2017

A federal grand jury in Chicago has returned an indictment charging Krishnaswami Sriram, a 70-year-old Illinois doctor, with tax evasion, filing false tax returns and assisting in the preparation and filing of false tax returns for his children.

According to the indictment, from 2011 through 2017, Sriram attempted to evade payment of approximately $1.6 million in taxes, penalties and interest he owed to the IRS.

Sriram allegedly caused his children to be the nominal owners of two rental properties he owned and operated, while still continuing to receive income from those properties. He also allegedly transferred more than $600,000 from his U.S. bank accounts into bank accounts in India that he controlled.

The indictment also alleges that Sriram filed false individual income tax returns that did not report his income from the rental properties and did not disclose his ownership interest in the foreign accounts. He also allegedly filed tax returns for his children that falsely reported the income and expenses related to the rental properties.

As part of an attempted offer in compromise, Sriram allegedly knowingly submitted false documents to the IRS that omitted some of his assets, including an investment account in the United States, investment and bank accounts in India and multiple rental properties.

If convicted, Sriram faces up to five years in prison for tax evasion, and up to three years for each count of filing a false tax return and aiding in the filing of a false tax return. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg made the announcement, thanking the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois and the Chicago Healthcare Fraud Strike Force for their assistance in this matter. The case is being investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation, the FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services, with Trial Attorney Sara Henderson of the Justice Tax Division prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Sriram, 70, is a resident of Lake Forest, Illinois.

His crimes allegedly took place from 2011 through 2017 in Lake Forest, Illinois.

The defendant faces a prison sentence of up to five years for tax evasion and up to three years for each count of filing a false tax return and aiding in the filing of a false tax return.

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