4 months in prison for northern Minnesota doctor who evaded more than $480K in taxes

A northern Minnesota doctor has been sent to prison for evading more than $480,000 in taxes for much of this century while also owning rental properties.

Joseph D. Meyer of Roseau was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis to a four-month prison term, six more months of home confinement and ordered to pay what he owes in back taxes. He had pleaded guilty to tax evasion in connection with his scheme that spanned from at least 2000, while working for the Mayo Clinic, until 2018.

Meyer, who turns 63 on Tuesday, routinely earned a six-figure taxable income as a licensed medical doctor as well as income and interest from his ownership of rental properties, according to the plea agreement and other court documents.

He repeatedly challenged his tax obligations in court, concealed his taxable income, sued the Internal Revenue Service without success and "even sued his rental tenants for complying with legitimate IRS levies," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement issued Friday announcing Meyer's sentence.

The total tax bill that Meyer dodged, according to prosecutors, was $484,164.

The prosecution confirmed in a court filing on Oct. 19 that Meyer, who works in the emergency room at LifeCare Medical Center in Roseau and runs a clinic in International Falls, has made restitution in full.