Indian-American neurosurgeon convicted of tax evasion

Arvind Ahuja, 50, of Greendale in Milwaukee County, is scheduled to be sentenced in January by Chief US District Judge Charles Clevert, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Thursday. He remains free on bond.

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The jury convicted Ahuja of filing a false tax return and of failing to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, while acquitting him on five other counts.

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Ahujua's attorney asked Clevert during the trial to dismiss the charges. If the judge did that, he could in effect overturn the jury's conviction. Clevert has not issued a ruling, the Journal Sentinel said.

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Prosecutors alleged Ahuja moved millions from US bank accounts to accounts located in India, earning more than $2.7 million in interest income between 2005 and 2009 but failing to report that income, according to prosecutors.

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He also maintained an account in the Bailiwick of Jersey, a British Crown dependency located in the Channel Islands off the coast of Normandy, France, they said.

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US Attorney James Santelle said in a statement: "In combination with the Internal Revenue Service, we are committed to enforcing the tax laws fairly and even-handedly, and the jury's verdict in this case appropriately reflects the understanding of all law-abiding citizens that underreporting income and failing to report foreign bank accounts will not be tolerated."

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Despite the conviction, Ahuja's attorney Dan Webb called the verdict "a tremendous victory."

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The case never should have been filed, Webb was quoted as saying, as prior to being indicted, Ahuja had filed amended federal and state tax returns and paid all amounts due, together with interest and penalties.