A former New York orthodontist was sentenced to more than eight years in prison for filing fraudulent U.S. tax returns seeking a total of $36 million in refunds, and was ordered to pay $200,000 in restitution.
Glenn Unger, DDS, 62, filed five years of false federal refund claims, including a 2008 claim for a $35 million refund, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of New York. Unger also attempted to evade payment of taxes he owed to the IRS.
Dr. Unger was licensed in New York state in 1976, but his license is no longer active, according to the New York Office of the Professions website. He operated Columbia County Orthodontics in Chatham, NY, from 1999 to 2006.
In October 2013, a U.S. District Court jury found Dr. Unger guilty of obstructing and impeding the IRS, filing false claims against the U.S., tax evasion, and passing fictitious obligations.
A federal investigation began in 2010, when federal agents traced threatening letters sent to governors by Dr. Unger, who told them he was affiliated with the Sovereign Citizen movement, according to court transcripts. The Sovereign Citizen movement is a group that thinks U.S. tax laws don't apply to them.
Dr. Unger told the agents he went by the alias Dr. Sam Kennedy, and that he taught seminars and gave Internet radio talks on how to avoid paying taxes, according to a syracuse.com story. The investigation found that, starting in 2007, Dr. Unger was teaching people how to file false income tax returns to get tax refunds.
Investigators searching Dr. Unger's storage facility found books that included The DEA Stash and Hideout Handbook.
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