Doctor Sentenced in Tax Fraud Case

A judge has sentenced an Encino doctor to 15 months in federal prison for filing false tax returns, U.S. Atty. Alejandro Mayorkas announced Wednesday.

Leonid Modilevsky, 63, was sentenced Jan. 26 in U.S. District Court after previously pleading guilty to three felony charges and admitting he filed bogus tax returns in 1990, 1991 and 1992.

Modilevsky failed to report $3.6 million in income he received for medical services he provided as a general practitioner over that three-year period. Of that amount, prosecutors said nearly $1.6 million consisted of checks Modilevsky received from personal injury attorneys for medical services the doctor provided for their clients.

Instead of depositing the checks into his bank account and reporting them as income, Modilevsky cashed the checks at various banks and check-cashing business and failed to report the income on his tax returns.

The physician’s attorney, Ted Flier, said his client “realized at the time that he was doing wrong, he should have reported the money.”

Ninth Circuit Senior Judge William Matthew Byrne Jr. sentenced Modilevsky and ordered the doctor to pay a $30,000 fine--$10,000 for each count.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Alka Sagar, who prosecuted the case, said it is unusual because most cases her office has handled involving attorneys and medical providers have dealt with amounts under $1 million.

“How often do you get somebody who forgets to pick up $3.6 million on their tax returns?” Sagar said.