ALASKA
A federal judge sentenced an Anchorage, Alaska, plastic surgeon to four years for wire fraud and tax evasion by hiding $5 million
In addition, U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason of Anchorage ordered Dr.Michael D. Brandner, 67, to serve two years of supervised release, and pay $25,922 toward the costs of prosecution.
“Tax evasion knows no geographic bounds,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline Ciraolo. “This case demonstrates that there is no longer any country where it is safe for a defendant like Dr. Brandner to hide money from the government. The Department of Justice, along with its law enforcement partners, will continue to aggressively pursue individuals who conceal assets and income abroad in an effort to evade their responsibilities under our nation’s tax laws.”
A jury convicted Brandner in November 2015 of four counts of wire fraud and three counts of tax evasion. Federal authorities said Brandner concealed $5 million in assets in secret bank accounts in Panama and Costa Rica from the IRS and Brandner’s wife, according to officials.
According to the indictment and evidence introduced at trial, shortly after his wife filed for divorce in late 2007, Dr. Brandner collected millions of dollars in marital assets and secretly drove from Tacoma, Washington, to Costa Rica in Central America.
In Costa Rica, he opened two bank accounts into which he deposited over $350,000 in cash and hid a thousand ounces of gold in a safe deposit box. He then traveled to Panama where he opened an account under the name of a sham corporation and deposited $4.6 million into the account in 2008.
Dr. Brandner concealed both the existence of the bank accounts and the interest income he earned on those accounts from the court in the divorce proceedings and from the IRS. Dr. Brandner owed the IRS $500,000 in additional taxes for the 2008 through the 2010 tax years, according to officials.
In 2011, Dr. Brandner repatriated over $4.6 million once the divorce was final only to have the funds seized by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations special agents. He then lied to federal agents about his control of the funds.