Vinings doctor charged with tax evasion

A Vinings doctor created his own church to evade taxes on millions in income that he used to pay for a multimillion-dollar mansion, his kids’ private schooling and online dating fees, federal authorities said.

Dr. Michael Jon Kell, 66, was arraigned on counts of tax evasion and other charges related to a two-decade scheme to hide more than $2 million he funneled through the First Meliorite Church, according investigators.

“Kell claimed a vow of poverty, but allegedly funneled over $2 million through a church he controlled to avoid paying income taxes on the money he earned,” U.S. Attorney John Horn said. “With the deadline for filing your 2015 tax return (Monday), we urge citizens in our district to think twice about the potential consequences of not truthfully reporting their income and paying their taxes.”

According to Horn’s office, Kell was no longer practicing as a doctor, but earned millions of dollars over the years from various inventions and consulting fees; to hide the income, Kell was a pastor of his church and donated much of his income to it. Church accounts covered all of his personal expenses, investigators said. Churches are generally tax-exempt.

Kell is listed as a minister in the Universal Life Church, based in Modesto, Calif. Universal’s website says the church has “no belief system for beliefs are unfounded assumptions which limit growth.” It also offers ordinations via online forms “within a day or two.”

Investigators said Kell also transferred ownership of his Vinings mansion several times among organizations he created to stay ahead of the IRS and other creditors.

In 2001, a Fulton County judge found Kell guilty of Medicaid fraud and tax evasion for ordering up to three full drug screens a week for clients at his methadone clinic, at $200 a test. Tests were repeatedly ordered although most patients’ results were negative, according to the Georgia Attorney General’s office. That money, too, was funneled through the non-existent First Meliorite Church, according to the state attorney general.