Bergen County Orthopedic Surgeon Charged with Failing to Pay Over Payroll Taxes and Failing to Report a Foreign Bank Account

NEWARK, N.J. – A federal grand jury today indicted an orthopedic surgeon for failing to pay over payroll taxes to the IRS and failing to report a foreign bank account, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Brian Mehling, 54, of Hackensack, New Jersey, was charged in an 11-count indictment with 10 counts of failing to collect, account for, and pay over payroll taxes for one quarter in 2014, three quarters in 2015, three quarters in 2016, two quarters in 2017, and one quarter in 2018, and one count of failing to report a foreign bank account holding more than $10,000 for calendar year 2018.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Mehling, an orthopedic surgeon, started Mehling Office Management LLC, in order to pay himself and other employees as part of his medical practice. Since the year 2006, Mehling has been involved with the IRS Collection Division due to his failure to pay his quarterly employment taxes for Mehling Office Management and other entities Mehling owned and controlled. Instead, Mehling chose to spend the majority of his money on other ventures, such as traveling around the world, on his personal rental properties, and promoting his stem cell research company.

Mehling was responsible for withholding payroll taxes from the gross salary and wages of his businesses’ employees to cover individual income, Social Security, and Medicare tax obligations. For at least 10 tax quarters, Mehling’s business withheld tax payments from its employees’ checks, but Mehling failed to pay over in full the payroll taxes due to the IRS. Additionally, Mehling did not report a bank account in France that at one point held more than $10,000 in 2018.

The 10 counts of failing to collect, account for, and pay over payroll taxes each carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison, and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. The count alleging failure to report a foreign bank account carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, and a $250,000 fine.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge John R. Tafur.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Leah Gould of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark. 

The charges and allegations in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.