A federal grand jury sitting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, returned an indictment yesterday charging a Pittsburgh-area certified registered nurse anesthetist with 5 counts of tax evasion and 4 counts of failure to file federal income tax returns and pay federal income tax.

According to the indictment, Loren Pulliam earned over $500,000 in income between 2002 and 2005, and over $1.2 million in additional income between 2008 and 2016, working as a nurse anesthetist at medical facilities in the Pittsburgh area. 

Pulliam allegedly evaded her tax obligations for the years 2002 through 2005 and 2011 through 2014 by establishing a nominee entity and directing her employers to pay compensation to that entity and then using a bank account opened in the nominee’s name to pay personal expenses.

The indictment further alleges that Pulliam failed to timely file federal income tax returns and pay the taxes due for the years 2011 through 2014, despite having an obligation to do so.

If convicted, Pulliam faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison for each count of tax evasion and one year in prison for each failure to file count.  Pulliam also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties.  An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed.  A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.