A Reno man has been sentenced to six months of home detention and fined ten-thousand dollars for his guilty plea to conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service.

At the same time Monday, US District Judge David Hagen of Reno ordered Lawrence Turpen to perform 300 hours of community service and placed him on three years probation.

Turpen, a former Reno dentist who became a financial consultant, was accused of advising clients to conceal their personal or business income in offshore accounts. He solicited clients at speaking engagements and through his book, "How and Why Americans Go Offshore."

Turpen, who pleaded guilty in July to the felony charge, also must cooperate with the IRS concerning back taxes he owes.

(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)