DVM enters plea deal on tax fraud charges

GREENVILLE, TENN. — A Tennessee veterinarian who operates a website supplying holistic medications for horses and companion animals entered a plea agreement with the federal government over charges he failed to pay taxes on nearly $2 million in earnings from his business.

Danny Dwain Moore, DVM, CVCP, of Unicoi, Tenn., entered his plea agreement Sept. 28 by waiving his indictment and pleading guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greenville to willfully making a false federal income tax return. Sentencing is scheduled for March 19, 2012.

Calls made to Moore and his attorney by DVM Newsmagazine were not returned by press time.

Under the plea deal, Moore faces up to three years in prison and fines of up to $250,000 in addition to restitution for more than $840,000. He has been released on a $20,000 bond until his sentencing.

Moore has been a veterinarian in Tennessee since 1980. He maintained two traditional veterinary clinics for several years until selling them in the mid-1990s to focus on online business ventures and multi-level marketing, according to U.S. Attorney General William C. Killian. The Natural Vet®, also known as The Natural Horse Vet and the Natural Pet Vet had annual credit-card sales exceeding $1.5 million by 2007, according to court records.

The federal government alleges that Moore omitted any business income from The Natural Vet and signed his returns listing his occupation as "American citizen."

Moore's total restitution, according to court records, is $608,474 in tax payments for 2003 to 2008 and $239,148 in interest. Under the plea deal, Moore agreed to pay restitution by making an immediate payment in full on or before his sentencing date. If he is unable to comply with that measure, the court may order a payment plan at sentencing.

Moore's charges came as a result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service.