INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis man has been convicted after filing false tax returns and concealing over $1.2 million in unreported income.
David Gerstein, 63, of Hamilton County has been convicted after pleading guilty to submitting a false income tax return.
According to court documents, between 2017 and 2020, Gerstein underreported his taxable income by $1.2 million. As a result, he evaded over $360,000 in income taxes that he owed.
Gerstein has been the sole owner of a dermatology practice in Indianapolis since 1997. He reported his business income to the IRS on his personal tax return.
During his tax evasion scheme, Gerstein used several different methods to conceal his true income.
Court documents say he lied to his accountant and told them that all income from his dermatology practice flowed into one business bank account, and only provided them with records from that account.
Gerstein had other hidden accounts that he used to deposit business income, including checks from patients, payments from insurance providers and payments via Venmo.
According to court documents, Gerstein also routinely broke up cash deposits of more than $10,000 and made multiple deposits on the same day. This is known as structuring transactions and is illegal.
Police say Gerstein continued to attempt to conceal the existence of some of his bank accounts even when interviewed by the IRS Criminal Investigation Agents.
“Every year, millions of Americans pay all the taxes they owe while criminals like this defendant lie and scheme to avoid paying their fair share,” Zachary Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, said.
Gerstein must be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for three years, the first six months of which must be served at a residential re-entry center. Gerstein also must pay a fine of $95,000.
