Published: September 15, 2008 09:06 pm      

Area physician sentenced to one month in jail

BLUEFIELD — A local physician was sentenced Monday to one month in prison and five months of home confinement for filing a false tax return.

Dr. David L. Tolliver, 53, of Bluefield, also was ordered to pay a $30,000 fine by U.S. District Judge David A. Faber during a sentencing hearing in Charleston, according to Tracy Dorsey-Chapman, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charleston.

Tolliver, an area dermatologist, pleaded guilty last September to one count of filing a fraudulent tax return. Chapman said Tolliver will self-report on Oct. 15 to begin serving his sentence.

Chapman said Tolliver admitted he used a tax trust system and diverted income from his medical practice through bank accounts set up in the name of various trusts. Tolliver also retained control of the money and used the money for personal expenses, including mortgages, vehicles, personal credit cards and other personal assets, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of West Virginia.

Tolliver also admitted to falsely reporting that his total income for the tax year 2001 was approximately $14,000 which his actual income was in excess of $400,000.

Chapman said the sentencing for Tolliver was a departure from sentencing guidelines. Tolliver had faced a possible maximum penalty of three years in prison and a fine up to $250,000.

However, Chapman said substantial assistance motions were filed by the United States as a result of Tolliver’s assistance in prosecutions pending in the Northern District of West Virginia and in Ohio against promoters and accountants involved in the trust system.

During Tolliver’s sentencing hearing Monday, Faber said he imposed a sentence of imprisonment on Tolliver to serve as a deterrent to others who may choose to commit such a crime.

The investigation was conducted by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan M. Robinson prosecuted the case.

– Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com