Dentist gets prison in tax evasion case

A dentist was sentenced to prison this week for tax evasion, according to federal authorities.

Boulos Hanna, also known as “Paul Hanna,” 66, of East Lyme, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Omar A. Williams in Hartford to 10 months in prison and that will be followed by three years of supervised release, according to federal authorities.

Hanna also has to pay $244,541 in restitution and a $25,000 fine, federal authorities said.

Authorities, citing both court documents and statements made in court, said Hanna, the sole owner of Paul Hanna DMD PC dental practice in New London, “takes fees from dental patients in the form personal checks, cash, and credit card payments,” and owns the building where the dental practice is located, with the practice paying “rent to Hanna individually.”

“For each of the 2000 through 2009 tax years, Hanna filed a Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return for himself and his wife, and paid the tax due and owing for those years, typically by having withholdings during the year sufficient to cover his tax liability,” authorities said in a statement. “For the 2010 through 2012 tax years, Hanna filed a Form 1040 for himself and his wife, but did not pay the tax due and owing. As a result, from approximately April 2012 through 2017, Hanna was subject to IRS collections enforcement for the 2010 through 2012 tax years, including forced collection activity, such as liens placed on property and seized payments taken by way of levy.”

Then, from 2013 through 2020, “Hanna earned approximately $1.6 million in taxable income from his work as a dentist and from rental income” and failed to file tax returns for any of those years, resulting in a loss to the IRS of $244,541, authorities said in the statement.

Hanna pleaded guilty on July 17, 2023; he is due to report to prison on May 6.

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division.