Laguna Beach Doctor Sentenced for Hiding Offshore Bank Account

A Laguna Beach doctor was sentenced today to probation and ordered to pay about $235,000 in fines and restitution for hiding an offshore bank account.

Baruch Fogel, an obstetrician and gynecologist, diverted at least $8 million to an undeclared bank account in Luxembourg through the Israel-based Bank Leumi, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

He previously paid a $4.2 million civil penalty to the U.S. Treasury Department for failing to disclose the account, prosecutors said.

Defense attorney Dennis Perez said Fogel was able to avoid prison time due to having exhibited a “lifetime of good deeds” and for his cooperation in a related case.

Last December, David Kalai, an Orange County-based tax preparer, and his son, Nadav Kalai, were both convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States for helping clients set up foreign accounts to evade income taxes.

Authorities said David Kalai met with Fogel at the Beverly Hills branch of Bank Leumi and helped the doctor with the necessary documents to open his Luxembourg bank account.

U.S. citizens who have a financial account with more than $10,000 in a foreign country are required to disclose the account on their individual income tax returns.

The Kalais are expected to be sentenced next week.