A Dyer accountant pleaded guilty Friday to federal tax and bank fraud charges involving the operation of his business, Weichman & Associates in Munster.
Jack Weichman, 64, who also owns MMDS, a medical billing business, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to two counts of bank fraud, one count of concealment of assets, one count of wire fraud and one count of filing a false tax return, court records stated.
Also entering guilty pleas in the case: Ari Weichman, 36, of Schererville, one count of bank fraud; James Schaefer, 66, of Lowell, one count of bank fraud; and William Bercaw, 69, of Munster, one count of wire fraud.
The 34-count federal indictment alleges the men of embezzling more than $3 million from two doctors who had hired MMDS to do their medical billings. The indictment also claimed Jack Weichman illegally hid income during his bankruptcy case and filed a false tax return. He also accused of opened up two lines of credit for approximately $1.1 million in one of the doctors’ names, the indictment said.
Jack Weichman admitted to hiding an almost $2 million tax debt to the Internal Revenue Service during a period when he was seeking to renew a loan from that bank, stated a U.S. Justice Department release.
In addition, federal authorities say Jack Weichman pleaded guilty to hiding hundreds of thousands of dollars from his bankruptcy creditors in January 2011. He admitted removing $95,000 from a client’s retirement fund in April 2013 by having an employee pretend to be the client during a phone call to the retirement fund. He also acknowledged failure to report at least $100,000 in income to the IRS.
Bercaw, an employee of Jack Weichman’s, pleaded guilty to removing the $95,000 from the client’s retirement fund. Schaefer and Jack Weichman’s son, Ari Weichman, pleaded guilty to providing false information to U.S. Bancorp in an effort to secure a loan for MMDS by representing Ari Weichman was the owner and president of MMDS.
Sentencing for the defendants is set for Jan. 27.
Jim Masters is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
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