BEACHWOOD – A Beachwood man and former Ocean County chiropractor pleaded guilty on September 19 to evading taxes on money laundered through a Russian bank account.
Carl Amato, 57, was charged with one count of tax evasion and one count of failure to report a foreign financial account. He is now facing state prison for laundering $1.5 million in criminal proceeds.
Jersey Shore Online first reported about Amato back in April of this year.
Amato formerly operated a chiropractic office in Lakewood, between 2012 and 2014, through Chiropractic Care Consultants Inc. and Accident Recovery Physical Therapy.
Amato deposited checks from chiropractic services in accounts named for his children and failed to report the taxable income on these checks, according to court documents. Amato also failed to report taxable income and taxes for 2015, owing $197,035 on $561,258 in income; evading over $300,000 in taxes for 2012, 2013 and 2015.
Amato also stated in court that he wired over $1.5 million in criminal proceeds into Russian bank accounts. This money was made through billing insurance companies for services never rendered, officials stated.
In April, Amato pled guilty in county court to first-degree money laundering and second-degree theft by deception for an illegal insurance scheme, where he funneled illegal monies to his wife and children in Russia.
In state court, Amato’s claims to legitimate patient visits could not be substantiated because the dates provided coincided with dates in which he was on vacation or patients had not visited his practice.
Police reported that county and Beachwood Police also found $182,515 in cash hidden inside a wall, fake identification documents and plans on how to flee the country inside Amato’s home in December 2017.
Amato is facing up to 15 years in prison. He is currently awaiting sentencing.
