Office manager ordered to serve 30 days in jail, pay $208K restitution in KY tax case
The former manager of a Kentucky dental practice who pleaded guilty to failing to pay federal taxes has been sentenced to 30 days in jail followed by nine months on home detention.
The sentence for Kathy Thorner also includes 100 hours of community service and $208,402 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.
Thorner was the office manager for Caring Dentistry in Ashland, operated by her husband, William Thorner, and was responsible for handling taxes from August 2010 to December 2017.
Thorner acknowledged she didn’t pay the IRS all the taxes withheld from employees’ paychecks and didn’t remit money withheld from their checks for benefits.
She also significantly understated income from the practice and overstated the amount of federal withholding on the joint tax returns for her and her husband for several years, according to her plea agreement.
Federal authorities charged that in the same period of the tax violations, Thorner spent over $800,000 from business accounts on personal expenses including vacations, credit card payments, retail purchases and jewelry.
The government initially charged William Thorner in the case but dropped charges against him.
Kathy Thorner’s attorney, Sebastian M. Joy, said in a sentencing memorandum that her client was pressed into service as office manager at her husband’s business at a time of “near financial ruin” during a business dispute with another dentist.
Thorner had no prior experience as an office manager, the memo said.
Thorner’s husband closed his practice in Ashland in 2018 and they moved to South Carolina.
U.S. District Judge David Bunning sentenced Thorner last week. She is to report to jail Jan. 2.
