In a shocking turn of events, Lourdes Margarita Garcia, a 62-year-old medical doctor from Pinecrest, was convicted of conspiracy to defraud and to file false returns with the IRS, and of three counts of filing false returns with the IRS. Garcia, who operated a medical clinic in Coral Gables, was found guilty by a federal jury in Miami after a two-week trial.
The superseding indictment revealed that Garcia had originally been the subject of an IRS collection action for multiple years of back-taxes owed. During the collection case, the IRS learned that Garcia and her now deceased spouse were delinquent in filing income tax returns for the years 1997 through 2005. When those returns were filed in August 2007, under penalties of perjury, the 1997 and 2001 through 2005 returns reported $0.00 adjusted gross income, and a 2006 amended return also filed in August 2007, reported less than $20,000 of adjusted gross income.
However, the evidence presented at trial showed that Garcia had actually earned a substantial income from her medical practice. According to the evidence, Global Medical Group, a Sub-S Corporation owned by Garcia, had steadily increased its revenues from insurance payments and patient fees, from approximately $81,000 in 2001, to approximately $1.9 million in 2006 and $1.7 in 2007. But no flow-through income from Global was reported on the 2001 through 2005 individual returns of Garcia and her spouse. Their 2006 and 2007 returns omitted approximately $400,000 of insurance payments and patient fees from Global.
The evidence at trial also showed that Garcia and her spouse conspired to defraud the IRS, by impairing, obstructing and defeating its lawful functions in the ascertainment, computation and collection of federal income taxes. The couple withdrew approximately $900,000 from bank accounts, only days before an IRS Notice of Levy attached to the accounts.
Garcia faces up to 14 years in prison on the four counts of conviction. Sentencing is scheduled for April 10, 2014 at 2:00 p.m. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jose A. Bonau and Andy R. Camacho.
U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI. The case highlights the importance of tax compliance and the consequences of tax evasion.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
ðŸâ€â€™ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
White Collar CrimeWhite Collar CrimeWhite Collar CrimeWhite Collar Crime