World-famous equine veterinarian Jack Ray Snyder was sentenced Monday to six months in federal prison and six months of home detention following his guilty plea to tax evasion.
Snyder, who has treated horses at five Olympic games and has traveled the world volunteering his services, had faced a prison term of up to five years.
But after Snyder pleaded with U.S. Senior District Judge William B. Shubb for a sentence of probation that would allow him to continue treating animals and work at the upcoming Tokyo Olympic games, the judge agreed to allow Snyder to report to prison on Aug. 17, nine days after the games conclude.
"I deeply regret and am really remorseful for this whole issue," Snyder told the judge. "My life is devoted to people and animals. It always has been.
"I do volunteer work, I help animals of the homeless people, I help and love rescue dogs."
Snyder pleaded guilty in August to failing to report more than $200,000 in income from the 2011 tax year, when he told the Internal Revenue Service he had earned $299,279.
Snyder's attorney, James Lassart, had urged the judge to sentence Snyder to probation, arguing that he could do more good for society outside prison.
"He has volunteered at the San Diego Zoo," Lassart said. "He has actually performed surgery on giraffes and elephants ...
"I'm asking the court not to impose any jail time. Put Dr. Snyder on probation, allow him to pay a fine. He'll make immediate restitution and he then can do community service ... This is a case where incarcerating Dr. Snyder is not necessary. He's sorry. He'll never do this again."
But Shubb was not convinced, asking Lassart how a sentence of probation would deter others from similar crimes.
"He's been pilloried in the press, he's humiliated, his family's humiliated," Lassart replied. "Anyone who's in his position would be deterred from ever doing this. Dr. Snyder has suffered greatly because of his renown."
Snyder, who spent 30 years as a professor at UC Davis and splits his time between homes in Truckee, California, and Florida, balked last summer at pleading guilty, initially beginning to blame an assistant for his tax troubles before Shubb ended that hearing and said he would not allow him to enter a guilty plea unless he was, in fact, guilty.
Snyder pleaded guilty in August, the sentence imposed Monday will allow him to spend six months in federal custody, then another six months in home detention in Florida.
The judge also fined him $30,000 and ordered him to pay $134,497 to the government in restitution.
