Weston Woman Sentenced for Tax Fraud

WESTON, CT — A local woman will face two years of probation and six months of home confinement after pleading guilty to tax fraud and obstruction charges. Danielle Faux, 49, of Weston will also face 100 hours of community service and a $3,000 in fines.

Faux, 49, is the owner of Danielle Faux PT, LLC, located on Lois Street in Norwalk. According to U.S. Attorney Deirdre Daly and court documents:

In August 2009, a contractor for the Medicare program conducting an audit of Faux’s physical therapy practice contacted Faux and requested records of 40 claims for physical therapy that Faux had submitted to Medicare. The requested records included appropriate documentation to support the services billed, including the physical therapy progress notes, physical therapy flow sheet/activity sheets, and any additional documentation verifying medical necessity for the physical therapy procedures. Because no patient progress notes or similar records existed that would support many of the Medicare claims, Faux instructed a physical therapist working for her to create detailed notes in the patient files that were requested in the audit, and Faux similarly created such records.

As part of her plea, Faux also admitted that from 2008 through 2011, she skimmed checks and cash proceeds from her physical therapy practice and did not declare the skimmed proceeds on her federal income tax returns. Through this conduct, Faux avoided paying $77,640 in taxes over the four-year period. Judge Underhill scheduled sentencing for December 15, 2016, at which time Faux faces a maximum term of term of imprisonment of five years and a fine of up to $250,000 on the obstruction count, and a maximum term of imprisonment of three years and a fine of up to $100,000 on the tax count.

Faux was also ordered to pay full restitution to the Internal Revenue Service. She plead guilty to one count of obstruction of a federal audit, and one count of making false statement on a federal income tax return.

In a related matter, Faux agreed to pay $50,000 to settle allegations that she and her practice submitted false records to the Medicare program in violation of the False Claims Act, according to Daly.

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