Trial Set for Retired Doctor in Tax Fraud

A retired Agoura Hills orthopedic surgeon charged with falsely filing for bankruptcy to avoid paying $11 million in income taxes will go to trial Sept. 24, federal officials said on Tuesday.

Robert A. Grant, 73, pleaded not guilty on Monday before Senior U.S. District Judge Edward Rafeedie to a 23-count indictment handed down last week by a federal grand jury. The former doctor is charged with conspiracy, bankruptcy fraud and money laundering.

If convicted on all counts, Grant faces a maximum of 390 years in prison and a multimillion-dollar fine, Internal Revenue Service spokesman Gary Tang said.

Federal public defender Pedro Castillo, who is representing Grant, said he would not comment on the case while litigation is pending.

Prosecutors allege that Grant owed more than $11 million in federal taxes between 1979 and 1995 as well as substantial back taxes to the state of California.

In a 1995 bankruptcy filing, Grant allegedly failed to list all his assets, in violation of federal law.

Prosecutors contend he set up “nominee corporations,” or businesses used to conceal the assets, that were owned and run by other parties, Tang said.

The corporations held Grant’s assets, including 88 acres in Agoura Hills valued at $5 million in 1990 and $4.5 million from his pension fund, the indictment alleges.

“He used the corporations to hide his assets from the bankruptcy court and to transfer the assets back to him after he was cleared of paying his creditors, including an $11-million tax bill,” Tang said.