A New Jersey orthopedic surgeon pleaded guilty to failing to pay over trust fund taxes.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Brian Mehling, 61, of Hackensack, New Jersey is an orthopedic surgeon and formed Mehling Office Management LLC, in order to pay himself and other employees of his medical practice. Mehling failed to pay over the full amount of taxes withheld from employees’ paychecks to the Internal Revenue Service for one quarter in 2014, three quarters in 2015, three quarters in 2016, two quarters in 2017, and one quarter in 2018, causing a loss of more than $1.5 million.
To collect Mehling Office Management’s payroll taxes, the IRS initiated a collections action, pursuant to which an IRS revenue officer interviewed Mehling in October 2016. In that interview, Mehling admitted that he was the responsible person for accounting for and paying over payroll taxes at Mehling Office Management and that he had failed to remit taxes for prior quarters and paid other expenses instead, including mortgages on his properties.
As part of his plea agreement, Mehling agreed to pay restitution of $1,526,281 to the IRS.
Mehling pleaded guilty to one count of failing to collect, account for, and pay over payroll taxes, for which he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The sentencing is scheduled for March 16, 2027.
Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division and U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer for the District of New Jersey made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Trial Attorney Likhitha Butchireddygari of the National Fraud Enforcement Division’s Tax Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Eli Jacobs for the District of New Jersey are prosecuting the case.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the Fraud Division. The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.