Dentist hid money in mom’s accounts to avoid paying taxes, feds say. He owes IRS $900K

Julia Marnin
·2 min read
49

A dentist accused of hiding money in his mother’s bank accounts to avoid paying taxes must pay the IRS nearly $900,000, federal prosecutors said.

Frantz Brignol, a dentist in Altamonte Springs, Florida, didn’t pay taxes owed to the IRS between 2014 and 2020, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.

With interest and penalties considered, Brignol owed the IRS $896,588.89, according to a trial brief.

Now, a judge has sentenced Brignol to two years in prison for tax evasion, the attorney’s office announced in a Dec. 15 news release.

He was also ordered to pay the IRS the amount he owes, prosecutors said.

David Anthony Wilson, Brignol’s defense attorney, declined a request for comment from McClatchy News on Dec. 18.

“Dr. Brignol lied to the IRS about his assets and exploited his elderly mother as a nominee, all to evade paying his fair share of federal income tax,” Tara K. Reed, the special agent in charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation agency, said in a statement.

Brignol, who calls his dental clinic “Your Gentle Dentist” according to his LinkedIn profile, hid money in his mother’s bank and brokerage accounts, the trial brief says.

He also traded money “overseas in his mother’s name” and made “false statements to the IRS on financial disclosure forms,” according to prosecutors.

On April 4, Brignol pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion and one count of failing to file a tax return, according to prosecutors, McClatchy News previously reported.

Two weeks later, he filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea on April 18, court records show. The judge granted his motion on May 18.

In August, a jury found him guilty of tax evasion, according to prosecutors.

Altamonte Springs is about 10 miles north of Orlando.

Bank employee steals over $105,000 in benefits meant for customer who died, feds say

Employee stole $600,000 from Florida school, feds say. ‘I’ve been paying myself extra’

Couple opened credit cards in patients’ names in $825,000 fraud scheme, feds say