Putting your chiropractic license at risk could be incredibly detrimental to your professional and personal life. Here are some ways you can encounter issues with the Georgia Board of Chiropractic Examiners:
-Engaging in immoral and unprofessional behavior
-Performing an act which in any way aids, assists, procures, advises, or encourages any unlicensed person to practice.
If you are an educator in Georgia facing disciplinary action, the below may be helpful in understanding how you might defend any accusations that are lodged against you.
You worked hard to become an educator, but that could change in an instant. Disciplinary actions can be brought against you if you take part in any of these activities:
● Acting unethically, as defined by the Georgia Code of Ethics for Educators (Standards 1–10, GaPSC Rule 505-6-.01).
Tax evasion is a potential criminal charge. Tax avoidance is perfectly acceptable.
26 U.S.C. § 7201 defines what is tax evasion. It states in relevant part that any person who willfully attempts in any manner to evade or defeat any tax imposed by this title or the payment thereof shall, in addition to other penalties provided by law, be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $100,000 ($500,000 in the case of a corporation), or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both, together with the costs of prosecution.
Federal prosecutors might also add additional charges beyond tax evasion. Those charges could include conspiracy charges, under 18 U.S.C. § 371, or tax fraud under 26 U.S.C. § 7206. The United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) recently released its Tax Fraud Report for fiscal year 2023. It states that off the 64,124 cases reported to the Commission in fiscal year 2023, 363 involved tax fraud (down 27% since FY 2019). It is unclear if this downward trend will continue.
Leona Helmsley, Jim Thorpe, Webster Hubbell, Alphonse Capone, and Peter Madoff are among many convicted of tax crimes such as tax evasion and tax fraud. The government generally targets groups like tax preparation firms and entities that are mainly cash based. But, the criminal division of the IRS has begun a more targeted approach to investigate and prosecute tax crimes in the cryptocurrency arena. Crypto investment schemes, for example, require investors to produce cash, but then convert the fraud proceeds to cryptocurrency to purposefully circumvent financial reporting requirements. These type of cases thus also involve potential money laundering, wire fraud and structuring charges,
The “newer” question on page 1 of the Tax Form 1040 now has a question that states, “At any time during the past year did you receive any financial interest in virtual currency?” In 2019, this question was only on Schedule 1. As of 2020, it is on page 1 of the Tax Form 1040. This is specifically targeted to combat cryptocurrency tax evasion.
Under 26 U.S.C § 7206(1), it is a criminal offense to file a tax return the filer knows is materially false. So, if you do not check that box on that first page, AND have substantial income in crypto, you might be targeted by the IRS. Remember cryptocurrencies are essentially similar to common stocks. This means a taxpayer must report their gains in cryptocurrencies on Form 8949. These gains are passed through to Schedule D on personal returns. The filer is responsible for paying capital gains tax on the net gain for the year. The government is long since versed in understanding the intricacies of the market like the role of hardware wallets, the use of DEXs, on-chain information, and how to track crypto movement across distributed ledgers. Please see here for a recent example of a case where non-payment of federal income tax on cryptocurrency earnings led to a conviction.
Fraud is a concept that has been in the criminal justice system forever. Google defines it as an intentional deception used to gain an unfair advantage or benefit, often involving financial gains. How does the Department of Justice prosecute fraud? Below is a non exhaustive list of charges that the DOJ can bring.
Billing to the United States government presents a unique set of legal requirements for healthcare professionals. Physicians who participate in federal healthcare programs like Medicare and Medicaid are subject to strict billing regulations. Even inadvertent errors can lead to severe legal consequences, including criminal charges. Understanding these laws and the potential risk of noncompliance is crucial for healthcare providers.
When the federal government is paying for items or services rendered to Medicare or Medicaid beneficiaries, federal fraud and abuse laws apply. Healthcare professionals influence what services patients receive and are responsible for the documentation of those services. That documentation is the basis for bills sent to insurers, and ultimately, the Government’s payment of a beneficiary’s medical claims.
If a physician knew or should have known that the submitted claim was false, the attempt to collect unearned money constitutes a violation. Federal fraud and abuse laws include the following:
Cryptocurrency fraud has become increasingly prevalent in recent years. The lack of a centralized authority governing crypto along with the relative anonymity of transactions has contributed to this rise in digital financial crime. Specifically, cryptocurrency money laundering has grown significantly in recent years with billions of dollars stolen through hacks, Ponzi schemes, mixers. A recent report from Chainalysis estimates illicit cryptocurrency addresses received more than 50 billion dollars in 2024.
Crypto money laundering follows the same pattern used for fiat (government-issued) currencies by “cleaning” funds gained through illicit means, before exchanging or withdrawing them for cash. Traditionally, money laundering involves disguising financial assets so they can be used without detection of the illegal activity that produced them. In the context of crypto, tokens are moved through various digital addresses to obscure their illegal origin and make them more difficult to trace.
The privacy-preserving nature of crypto has opened the door for criminals to conceal the origin of illicitly gained funds through a variety of methods. Cybercriminals ultimately funnel assets through several businesses and online addresses to hide the money trail before transferring the funds to a seemingly legitimate source.
The federal government may target organizations and businesses as well as individuals for violations of federal criminal statutes. For example, in the health care realm, cases can include office managers, practitioners from doctors, nurses to pharmacists to all other aspects of the medical industry. Recent federal investigations have targeted pill mills, medicaid fraud, and accepting kickbacks among others.
Experienced federal criminal defense attorneys like those at Conaway & Strickler, PC may suggest early on about the possibility of entering into a “deferred prosecution agreement” which is essentially a contract with the Department of Justice. DPAs are frequently used in cases involving corporate fraud, bribery, and antitrust violations. These pretrial agreements may involve an admission of wrongdoing, the payment of fines, and the implementation of compliance measures. Charges may be dropped if the defendant complies with the requirements of the agreement. Generally, the Assistant United States Attorney will file the criminal complaint and the DPA with the court, so it is of public record. This will be accompanied by a formal request to the court that any prosecution be delayed according to the terms of the DPA, allowing the defendant to fulfill its agreed-upon actions. This is very similar to conditional discharge / pre trial diversion agreements found at the state level.
An example of a DPA would be one that was entered in to by the DOJ and Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc in August 2023 in response to the company’s involvement in a price fixing conspiracy involving several pharmaceuticals. As seen in this example, terms can include paying a fine, waiving certain rights, agreeing to a factual basis for the charges, and an agreement to cooperate and compliance monitoring and of course, agreeing to what will happen if there is a breach of the agreement.
Milan Patel and four other defendants were charged both by the SEC and the Department of Justice for their role in an options trading scheme in the Northern District of Georgia. Another defendant, Bart Ross was sentenced a few years ago for the same scheme. In total, In total, the defendants executed more than 500 trades and made $2,651,320 in profits as a result of their fraudulent scheme. And just last week, Mr. Patel was sentenced.
According to the NDGA DOJ news release:
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Moultrie, the charges and other information presented in court: Between approximately October 2017 and January 2020, Milan Patel, Bart Ross, Mark Melnick, Anthony Salandra, and Charles Parrino conspired to trade securities—primarily short-term call options—in large, publicly traded companies based on materially false rumors about those companies that they generated and disseminated. These materially false rumors were intended to increase the price of the securities (both the underlying stock and options).
Physicians who are arrested face a multitude of other issues. They will face possible termination from their job. But, also they will face issues with the Georgia Composite Board. It is very important to understand that those who are arrested may hire a firm like us and enter into an informal resolution to avoid formal proceedings, additional costs, and potentially more severe sanctions with the Composite Board. It is important to be aware of other possible consequences of such stipulations, including the following:
Georgia Criminal Defense Lawyers Blog