Rather than pay taxes, Pinehurst surgeon, wife paid for truffle business, dog boarding
A Moore County couple has been convicted of tax evasion after they used employee withholding taxes and other funds from a Pinehurst surgical practice to fund the wife's truffle business and pay for other expenses.
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Dr. James Rice owns and operates Pinehurst-based Sandhills Orthopaedic, and his wife, Susan Rice, handles its administrative operations. The couple didn't file tax returns from 2014 to 2016, and between 2007 and 2016, they also used $580,000 in employee Social Security and other withholding taxes on personal expenses, authorities said.
To conceal their income, the Rices transferred at least $1 million from Sandhills Orthopaedic’s bank accounts to other accounts that they controlled, such as those for Susan Rice’s truffle business, authorities said. The Rices also used their business bank accounts to fund personal expenditures, including a country-club membership, dog kennel boarding and rent for their personal residence, authorities said.
The couple will be sentenced later, and they face up to five years in prison for each count of conspiracy, tax evasion and employment tax fraud and an additional year in prison for each count of failing to file individual and corporate tax returns. They also could face fines and restitution to the government.
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