Alabama Chiropractor Charged with Tax Crimes

A federal grand jury in Birmingham, Alabama, has indicted Gary Forrest Edwards, a dermatologist in Shelby County, on charges of tax evasion, filing false taxes, and obstructing the IRS. Edwards, who owns the Hoover Health & Wellness Center, is accused of failing to pay $2.4 million in back taxes and attempting to thwart IRS collection efforts.

According to the lawsuit, Edwards agreed in 2015 to file income tax returns for the years 2009 to 2013. Although he filed these returns and reported millions of dollars in income, he did not pay any of the $2.4 million in taxes he reported he owed. .

The lawsuit also says that from 2015 to 2023, when the IRS tried to collect unpaid taxes, Edwards took several steps to prevent these efforts. These actions included transferring assets to his wife, submitting false information about his assets to the IRS, filing false tax returns, and making false statements to IRS investigators. Additionally, Edwards allegedly filed documents in local court falsely claiming that Federal Tax Lien Notices filed against him by the IRS had been terminated.

If convicted, Edwards faces significant penalties. The maximum penalty for tax evasion is five years in prison. For the obstruction charge and each count of filing a false tax return, the maximum sentence is three years in prison. A district court judge will decide any sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other legal factors.