Ottawa dentist handed extra prison time for failing to pay tax evasion fine
Tania Kovaluk invested money in offshore accounts to avoid the fine, court records show
An Ottawa dentist was sentenced to an extra five years in prison for avoiding to pay a tax evasion fine totalling nearly $900,000, according to the Canada Revenue Agency.
Tania Kovaluk pleaded guilty to several counts of income tax and GST evasion in November of 2012. She was later sentenced to two years and five months in prison — and fined $887,328.
According to court records, Kovaluk evaded paying $721,617 in federal taxes when she failed to report more than $2.5 million in income earned over a five-year period.
She also encouraged others to participate in the Paradigm Education Group, a scheme which "educated" people on how to illegally avoid paying taxes.
Nine of the people Kovaluk counselled to join were employees at her Ontario practice, court records said.
The Canada Revenue Agency said Kovaluk made no attempts to pay back the fine.
In addition to spending large sums of money on luxury items, such as art, jewelry, vacations and a home in Ottawa, court records show she invested money in offshore accounts, "with the intention of avoiding payment of her court-imposed fine."
The Superior Court of Justice in Ottawa has now sentenced Kovaluk to an additional five years in prison for deliberately not paying the fine.