Roseau medical doctor sentenced to four months in federal prison for tax evasion
Nov. 8—GRAND FORKS — A Roseau, Minnesota, man was sentenced to four months in federal prison for tax evasion committed throughout his career as a medical doctor.
Joseph David Meyer, 63, was sentenced by Judge Donovan W. Frank in U.S. District Court on Nov. 2. He must turn himself in to serve the four-month sentence on Jan. 9, 2024. He will serve an additional six months on home confinement and two years on supervised release, according to a press release from the United States Attorney's Office District of Minnesota.
From around 2000 to 2018, Meyer regularly earned a six-figure income as a licensed medical doctor, also accruing taxable income and interest from rental properties, according to documents filed in the case.
"Meyer went well beyond the traditional avenues of simply hiding successful business income to evade his tax obligations," the U.S. sentencing recommendation said. "He repeatedly sued the IRS — and even his own rental tenants — to further his intransigence."
In 2013, Meyer directed his employers to pay him in cash when possible, which made it much more difficult to track his earnings, according to court documents. The IRS levied Meyer's accounts and reduced his levying abilities, which he subsequently challenged and lost.
The IRS sent Meyer's tenants notice of the levies and instructed them to make rent payments to the IRS.
"Meyer responded by sending letters to his tenants that the IRS levies were fraudulent, directed his tenants to ignore the IRS letters, and threatened his tenants with eviction if they complied," the sentencing recommendation said.
Some tenants did send payments directly to the IRS, and two were later sued by Meyer for doing so. He sought reimbursement as well as eviction of the tenants. Meyer lost but appealed the decision and continued trying to keep his tenants from complying with the levies, court documents said.
In May of 2022, Meyer was charged with one count of tax evasion. He was accused of not filing an income tax return for the 2018 tax year and, instead, committing acts to prevent the IRS from properly assessing his income.
At least one employer paid Meyer directly — by cash or check — for his work as a medical doctor, according to court documents. Meyer pleaded guilty in June 2022 and paid the remainder of the money he owed, which totaled $484,164.
"Meyer — and others like him — exploit every honest taxpayer and steal from everyone who depends on federal programming," the sentencing recommendation said. "This is particularly aggravating given Meyer previously served honorably in the military, which almost exclusively relies on taxpayer money. These realities gave Meyer no pause as he stole for his own benefit at the expense of others."
The U.S. recommended a 13-month prison sentence, claiming Meyer robbed the public and, moreover, willingly involved third parties in his crimes.
Meyer argued that a lesser sentence was appropriate because he paid off his debts early, provided necessary medical care to under-served areas and experienced personal losses that had a negative effect on his mental health.
"It cannot be overlooked that Meyer served eviction papers on a family that faced many of the same challenges Meyer argues mitigate his own behaviors," the sentencing recommendation said.
A victim wrote in their impact statement that Meyer's actions were a nightmare they had to try to sort out, "knowing the magnitude of what could happen" and simultaneously trying to reassure their kids.
"To this day I am still stunned why Joseph Meyer put me in the middle of his fight with the IRS," they wrote.
Meyer's medical license was suspended in 2019, but was reinstated in May of 2022. As of Nov. 8, the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice had not filed any changes to Meyer's license as a result of the criminal conviction.
