Arvind Ahuja

Washington, June 29, 2011: An Indian American neurosurgeon has been indicted for failing to report to US tax authorities millions of dollars in bank accounts at the HSBC Bank in India and the Bailiwick of Jersey.

Arvind Ahuja of Greendale, Wisconsin, a board-certified neurosurgeon was Tuesday indicted by a federal grand jury in Milwaukee on four counts of wilfully filing materially false tax returns and four counts of failing to file Reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBARs).

According to the indictment, as announced by the Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Ahuja' HSBC bank account in India had a balance of $8,733,785 in 2009, but he failed to report these bank accounts to the IRS on his 2006-09 tax returns.

The indictment further alleges that Ahuja failed to report more than $1.2 million in interest income that he earned from his HSBC India account and failed to pay the taxes due on that income. For the 2006-09 tax years, Ahuja also failed to file FBARs to report his foreign bank accounts to the Department of the Treasury.

As alleged in the indictment, US citizens have an obligation to report to the IRS on their tax returns.

Each false tax return charge carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The failure to file FBAR charges each carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.

A trial date has not yet been set.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Greendale neurosurgeon indicted in tax fraud case

A federal grand jury on Tuesday indicted a Greendale neurosurgeon on allegations of tax fraud for failing to report $8.7 million in income that he allegedly hid in a bank account in India in 2009.

Arvind Ahuja faces four counts of willfully filing false tax returns and four counts of failing to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts, according to a Department of Justice news release.

Ahuja's attorney, Dan K. Webb of Winston & Strawn, called the allegations "outrageous and erroneous." He added that Ahuja is innocent, and the federal government had made a mistake in taking this action.

Ahuja, a board-certified neurosurgeon with Aurora Health Care, transferred and maintained millions of dollars in accounts in India and the Bailiwick of Jersey, an island off the coast of France, according to the indictment. Ahuja did not report the bank accounts in his tax returns from 2006 to 2009 and failed to disclose more than $1.2 million in interest income earned from his India account, according to the indictment.

The indictment alleges that Ahuja also failed to pay taxes on that income and failed to file foreign bank and financial accounts with the Department of the Treasury.

Each false tax return charge carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine, while the foreign financial charges each carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.

U.S. citizens are obligated to report to the Internal Revenue Service whether they have financial interest in accounts in a foreign country and where the account is, according to the indictment. In addition, citizens also must report all income earned from foreign accounts and pay taxes due on the income and file required forms if they have a financial interest in a foreign account worth more than $10,000 in a particular year.

Webb said the cause of the prosecution is his client's bank, the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp., which failed to issue him any documents that stated his interest income from accounts at the bank. The amount of the tax in question is a small fraction of the tax Ahuja did pay in the years at issue, Webb said. In 2009, according to the indictment, the HSBC bank account in India had a balance of $8,733,785.

Describing his client as one of Wisconsin's leading neurosurgeons, Webb said that once Ahuja realized that the interest income was not reported by the bank, he paid all taxes owed, interest and late payment penalties for the years he held those accounts. This included years where the statute of limitations had expired.

According to Ahuja's Aurora Health Care physician profile, Ahuja is experienced with all facets of neurosurgery. He received his medical education at the Medical College of Ohio and completed his residency at State University of New York-Buffalo in neurosurgery. His practice locations include Burlington, Milwaukee, Racine and St. Francis.

Indian American indicted for not reporting India HSBC account

Greendale neurosurgeon indicted in tax fraud case