Wheeling Doc Gets 41 Months for $2.5M Tax Rip-Off

⏱ 3 min read

Nitesh Ratnakar, 50, a gastroenterologist and medical equipment manufacturer from Elkins, West Virginia, is trading his stethoscope for stripes. Ratnakar was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison today in Clarksburg after admitting to cheating the IRS out of $2.5 million between 2020 and 2022. He ran a scheme where he skimped on employee payroll taxes and then tried to cover it up with phony tax returns.

According to federal prosecutors, Ratnakar pocketed $2,419,560 in taxes that should have gone to the government. He owned and operated both a medical practice in Wheeling and a separate medical equipment operation in Elkins, using both businesses to funnel the stolen funds. The IRS Criminal Investigation division brought the scheme to light.

“Cheated the system” is how U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey put it – a statement that hardly scratches the surface. This wasn’t an oversight; it was a deliberate attempt to avoid paying what was owed, impacting every taxpayer in the district.

Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh handed down the 41-month sentence, followed by a year of supervised release. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jarod Douglas and Eleanor Hurney secured the conviction. Ratnakar will have plenty of time to reflect on his choices behind bars.