Published: Aug 3, 2024
by Joshua Sophy
In Small Business News
A federal grand jury in Birmingham, Alabama, has indicted Gary Forrest Edwards, a Shelby County chiropractor, on charges of tax evasion, filing false tax returns, and obstructing the IRS. Edwards, who owns Hoover Health & Wellness Center, is accused of failing to pay $2.4 million in self-reported taxes and attempting to thwart IRS collection efforts.
According to the indictment, Edwards agreed in 2015 to file missing income tax returns for the years 2009 through 2013. While he did file these returns and reported millions of dollars in income, he did not pay any of the $2.4 million in taxes he reported owing.
The indictment further alleges that from 2015 to 2023, when the IRS tried to collect the unpaid taxes, Edwards engaged in several actions to impede these efforts. These actions included transferring assets to his wife, submitting false information about his assets to the IRS, filing false tax returns, and making false statements to IRS investigators. Additionally, Edwards allegedly filed documents with a local court falsely claiming that Notices of Federal Tax Lien filed against him by the IRS had been terminated.
If convicted, Edwards faces significant penalties. The maximum sentence for the tax evasion charge is five years in prison. For the obstruction charge and each charge of filing a false tax return, the maximum sentence is three years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Joshua Sophy is the Editor for Small Business Trends and has been a member of the team for 16 years. A professional journalist with 20 years of experience in traditional media and online media, he attended Waynesburg University and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. He has held roles of reporter, editor and publisher, having founded his own local newspaper, the Pottsville Free Press.
