A Wheeling, W.Va., physician was sentenced to 41 months in prison for tax fraud totaling nearly $2.5 million and attempting to obstruct a federal investigation, the Justice Department said in a March 17 news release.
Nitesh Ratnakar, MD, who owned and operated a gastroenterology practice and a medical equipment manufacturer in Elkins, W.Va., was convicted on 41 counts of tax fraud and one count of obstructing a federal grand jury investigation.
Dr. Ratnakar withheld payroll taxes from employees’ paychecks and failed to make $2.4 million in required payments to the IRS. Dr. Ratnakar also filed false tax returns in 2020, 2021 and 2022, and caused false documents to be provided in response to a federal grand jury subpoena while under investigation.
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