Colorado Dentist’s Tax Evasion Sentence Upheld by Tenth Circuit

A Colorado dentist failed to convince a federal appeals court that his 41-month sentence for tax evasion was procedurally and substantively unreasonable.

The district court properly applied sentencing guidelines when it calculated Ryan Ulibarri’s offense level and considered the “nature and circumstances” behind his offenses, the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit said in a Wednesday opinion.

The Justice Department charged Ulibarri with six counts of tax evasion in 2024, which he pleaded guilty to in February 2025. Ulibarri utilitzed a tax shelter involving a series of trusts to ...