DOJ Announces Tax Evasion Conviction of Wisconsin Dentist

JURY FINDS WISCONSIN DENTIST GUILTY OF TAX EVASION

Directed Patients to Pay in Cash

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2020

WASHINGTON — A federal jury in Madison, Wisconsin, convicted a La Crosse, Wisconsin, dentist today of four counts of tax evasion, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department's Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Scott C. Blader for the Western District of Wisconsin.

According to evidence presented at trial, Frederick G. Kriemelmeyer, 70, operated a dental practice in La Crosse, Wisconsin. In 2007, Kriemelmeyer was ordered by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin to pay $135,337 to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for unpaid income taxes. By 2012, the IRS had assessed Kriemelmeyer for more than $450,000 in taxes, interest, and penalties. Evidence presented at the trial showed Kriemelmeyer took a number of actions to evade paying the taxes he owed, from at least 2013 through 2015, Kriemelmeyer did not file tax returns reporting the income from his dental practice, directed his patients to pay him in cash or by check with blank payee lines, and paid his business and personal expenses with third-party checks and cash.

U.S. District Judge William M. Conley has set sentencing for May 19, 2020. At sentencing, Kriemelmeyer faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison for each count of tax evasion. He also faces a period of supervised release, monetary penalties, and restitution.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Blader commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorney Eric C. Schmale of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Altman, who prosecuted the case.

Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division's website.

The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.