Carson chiropractor heading for prison for tax fraud

A Carson City chiropractor must surrender to federal authorities next month to begin serving a two-year prison sentence for income tax fraud, an official said Thursday.

Lisa M. Getas was sentenced to two years in federal prison, one year of supervised release and ordered to pay $48,792 in restitution to the IRS for filing false tax returns, according to Steven W. Myhre, United States attorney for the District of Nevada, and Richard Morrison, acting assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice Tax Division.

Getas, a Nevada-licensed chiropractor who conducts business at 200 W. Long St. as Lisa Bray-Getas, received a bench trial in March.

In July, the judge found Getas guilty of willfully making and signing false individual income-tax returns for the years 1999-2001.

According to an Nevada Attorney General news release, Getas controlled an offshore corporation in Nevis, West Indies and wire-transferred funds to her offshore corporation's "warehouse" bank account. She caused these funds to be fraudulently characterized as business expenses and mortgage payments to reduce her income taxes.

After sending the money offshore, Getas repatriated the funds back to the United States and avoided paying taxes on them by fraudulently calling them loan proceeds.

She then spent the money for her personal benefit. As a result, Getas falsely understated her income on her individual income-tax returns.

The evidence further established that Getas falsely overstated the business expenses of Lisa Bray Getas, Ltd., on income-tax returns for those three years, resulting in the company taking improperly large deductions and reducing Getas' tax due and owing.

Her sentence included enhancements for obstruction of justice and for using sophisticated means to carry out the tax fraud scheme and to impede discovery of the crime.

In a related case, Roger and Kimberly Steele, Getas' tax return preparers, pleaded guilty to tax offenses. Roger Steele, of Carson City, pleaded guilty to aiding and assisting the filing of a false income-tax return, and was sentenced in April to five years probation and six months of home confinement with electronic monitoring.

Kimberly Steele, of Reno, pleaded guilty to corruptly endeavoring to impede and impair the due administration of the Internal Revenue Service, and was sentenced in April to three years probation.

Getas is released on a personal recognizance bond, and must surrender to federal prison by Nov. 29.

The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by DOJ Tax Division trial attorneys Caryn Mark and Jay Nanavati.