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Feds: Saddle River doctor diverted $5.8 million for personal use, evaded taxes

YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: Federal agents this morning arrested a Saddle River doctor at his home on an indictment charging him with various counts of tax evasion for illegally diverting more than $5.8 million in insurance payments from three immediate medical care facilities to pay his mortgage, his sons’ college tuition and other personal expenses.

Photo Credit: Cliffview Pilot File Photo

Medhat El Amir conducted a bogus $2.5 million sale of his home as part of the scheme, an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Newark yesterday alleges.

El Amir, who owned two immediate medical care offices in Jersey City and one in North Bergen, didn’t employ a bookkeeper but, instead, “managed all aspects of the business, includign paying expenses and overseeing employees and contractors,” the indictment says.

He maintained multiple checking accounts in the names of his wife, his sons and his company, Immediate Care, P.C., it adds.

Among other offenses, the indictment alleges:

In February, 2005, knowing he owed the IRS money, El Amir “caused a fraudulent sale of his residence” on Mill Road to his sister.

For a year beginning in Jaunary 2007, El Amir cashed insurance company checks for medical treatments at his clinics at a Jersey City check-cashing business, then deposited them into the various bank accounts.

With the money, it says, he “paid for his personal expenses, including college tuition payments for his children, life insurance premiums, and other personal expenses.”

He also failed to filed federal income tax forms for 2007, 2009 and 2010, while underreporting income for 2008, the indictment alleges, adding that El Amir claimed interested deductions he wasn’t entitled to.

On top of that, El Amin is charged with fraudulently transferring the Saddle River property to his sister as a nominee while continuing to live there “to keep the property out of the reach of the IRS.”

Meanwhile, he “made all of the monthly mortgage payments on the Saddle River [p]roperty by cashier’s check or personal check on behalf of [his sister]” and used money deposited into the accounts to pay for utilities, lanscaping and maintenance, the indictment says.

For 2008, El Amir reported $148,387 in taxable income, $60,697 in itemized deductions and $24,584 in net income from his businesses, it says. Asked by the IRS for supporting documentation, the indictment alleges, he sent a form under-reporting the income that he and his wife received from Immediate Care.

In 2007, he cashed $1,631,730 at the business, then deposited $1,000,551 into one account, $46,500 into another and $35,242 into another, the indictment says.

He used the money to pay a $139,532 monthly mortgage, college tuition for his son of $68,298, and life insurance premiums of approximately $78,660, the government alleges. He also gave his two sons money for personal expenses, the indictment says.

In 2008, it says, he cashed $1,929,318 in insurance company checks before depositing $1,613,825 in cash in the various bank accounts. He again used the money for the mortgage, tuition and insurance, the government alleges. An additional $122,041 in checks were also converted to cash and used for sons’ benefit, the indictment says.

El Amir in 2009 cashed another $1,953,439 in insurance checks, then deposited $1,676,650 into the accounts for the same personal expenses, the indictment alleges. Again, he also cashed $94,020 before giving a little less than half to his sons, it says.

In 2010, the primary cashed amount was $1,746,596, of which the government said $1,545,271 was deposited and put toward the mortgage, tuition and insurance. An additional $78,692 was cashed, of which $57,010 went into a bank account for one son and $55,650 for another.

El Amir was scheduled to go before a federal judge in Newark this afternoon.

 

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