POTOMAC, MD (TIP): On December 2, Sreedhar Potarazu, 51, an Indian American ophthalmic surgeon based in Potomac, Maryland, pleaded guilty to charges of inducing interstate travel to commit a fraud and failing to account for and pay over employment taxes.

“For years Potarazu enriched himself by abusing the trust of his company’s many investors and stealing millions of dollars from them through a complex scheme of fraud and deceit, said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “This case is a prime example of this office’s ongoing commitment to bringing white-collar crimi-nals to justice.” Potarazu was an ophthalmic surgeon who was licensed in Maryland and Virginia, founded in or about September 2000, VitalSpring Technologies Inc. (VitalSpring), a Delaware corporation. VitalSpring operated in McLean, Virginia and provided data analysis and services relating to health care expenditures. In or around the end of 2015, VitalSpring started doing business as Enziime, LLC, a Delaware corporation. From its inception, Potarazu was VitalSpring’s Chief Executive Officer, President, and served as a member of the Board of Directors.

“Sreedhar Potarazu viewed himself as above the law -deliberately defrauding investors and stealing from the U.S. Treasury – and with today’s guilty plea, he is held account-able for his criminal conduct,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo. “Like other individuals who willfully ignore their employment tax obligations, Potarazu faces incarceration and substantial monetary penalties. The department will continue to work with its partners within the IRS to identify and prosecute these offenders.” Potarazu faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. He will be sentenced on March 3, 2017.