The owner of Central Valley Pain Management (CVPM) in Bakersfield has pleaded guilty to tax evasion, reported U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert.

Janardhan Grandhe, 65, is a pain management doctor who from 2017-19 filed false tax returns for CVPM overstating expenses and also filed false individual tax returns for himself that omitted gross receipts he received.

In total, Grandhe evaded personal tax liability exceeding $300,000.

From 2017-19, Grandhe provided checks to employees claiming to be reimbursements for employee expenses that were then included as deductions on the CVPM tax returns. Grandhe claimed the reimbursements were for out-of-pocket costs incurred by employees for continuing medical education, meals, mileage and travel expenses. In many cases, those expenses were never incurred by the employees. Grandhe instead instructed those employees to cash the checks and provide cash back to Grandhe, which he deposited into accounts controlled by him or his family members. Grandhe then provided false documentation to his tax preparer to support the false deductions.

In that period, Grandhe diverted business receipts to his personal bank accounts and did not provide his tax preparer with these personal bank account records so these amounts were not included as business gross receipts on the CVPM tax returns. These unreported business receipts included checks from customers for stem cell injections. Additionally, Grandhe diverted credit card receipts received by his business for medical services rendered into his personal bank account. The unreported income on the CVPM tax returns resulted in decreased net income on the Grandhe’s personal tax returns.

The case is the product of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Spivak is prosecuting the case.

Grande is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on Feb. 3, 2023. He faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $100,000 fine.