Jan. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Bradley Birkenfeld, a key informant
in the U.S. investigation of offshore tax evasion at UBS AG,
began a 40-month prison term today at a federal facility in
Minersville, Pennsylvania.
Since Birkenfeld approached U.S. authorities about UBS’s
practices in 2007, seven former UBS clients, including a
billionaire real-estate developer, have pleaded guilty. One,
former Boeing Co. manager Roberto Cittadini, was sentenced today
to six months of house arrest by a federal judge in Seattle.
Below is a summary of the cases against the bank, former
UBS clients, and their enablers:
UBS: The Zurich-based bank agreed Feb. 18 to pay $780 million to
defer prosecution for aiding tax evasion by U.S. clients. The
bank said its Swiss private bankers helped wealthy Americans
evade U.S. taxes from 2000 to 2007. UBS also set up sham
offshore companies in tax havens such as the British Virgin
Islands, Hong Kong and Panama. UBS said it created misleading
forms saying those offshore companies, not taxpayers, were the
beneficial owners.
Bradley Birkenfeld: A former UBS banker, he pleaded guilty to
helping wealthy Americans, including billionaire Igor Olenicoff,
evade taxes. He cooperated with prosecutors. He was sentenced
Aug. 21 in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to 40
months in prison, 10 months more than prosecutors had requested.
Raoul Weil: A former chief executive officer of global wealth
management at UBS, he was indicted Nov. 6, 2008, on a charge of
conspiring to help wealthy Americans hide assets from the IRS.
He was declared a fugitive by a U.S. court in January 2009.
Hansruedi Schumacher: A former Neue Zuercher Bank manager who
once ran the cross-border business for UBS, Schumacher was
indicted Aug. 20 in Fort Lauderdale for allegedly helping U.S.
citizens evade taxes on UBS and NZB accounts. He was declared a
fugitive on Dec. 10.
Martin Liechti: The former head of the UBS cross-border
business, Liechti was held as a material witness for several
months in 2008. He hasn’t been charged with a crime.
Igor Olenicoff: A billionaire real-estate developer, Olenicoff
pleaded guilty in December 2007 in federal court in Santa Ana,
California, to filing a false tax return. He failed to declare
accounts at UBS, where he once had $200 million in assets. He
received two years’ probation and paid $52 million in back
taxes, interest and penalties.
Steven Michael Rubinstein: A Florida accountant who worked at an
international yacht company, he pleaded guilty June 25 to filing
a tax return that failed to disclose secret UBS accounts that
held at least $7 million in assets. A federal judge in Miami
sentenced him on Oct. 28 to 12 months of house arrest.
Robert Moran: A Florida yacht broker who pleaded guilty April 14
to filing a tax return that failed to disclose $3.4 million held
at UBS. He was sentenced to two months in prison on Nov. 6 by a
federal judge in Fort Lauderdale.
John McCarthy: A California businessman who pleaded guilty Oct.
20 to a charge of failing to file a tax report for an offshore
bank account holding more than $1 million. He is scheduled for
sentencing Jan. 28 by a judge in federal court in Los Angeles.
Jeffrey Chernick: A New York toy salesman who pleaded guilty
July 28 to filing a false tax return that concealed $8 million
in assets at UBS. In his plea, Chernick implicated four others
in detailing a $45,000 bribe paid to a Swiss government
official. A federal judge in Fort Lauderdale on October 30
ordered him to serve three months in prison.
Juergen Homann: A New Jersey businessman who admitted Sept. 25
in federal court that he didn’t report $6.1 million in UBS
assets to the U.S. government. A federal judge in Newark, New
Jersey on Jan. 7 sentenced him to five years’ probation.
Roberto Cittadini: A former sales manager at Boeing Co., the
resident of Bellevue, Washington, was sentenced in federal court
in Seattle today to one year of probation, including six months
of house arrest. He pleaded guilty in October to filing a false
tax return that failed to report income on $1.86 million in
assets.
Mario Staggl: A Liechtenstein investment adviser at New Haven
Trust Co., Staggl was indicted with Birkenfeld in federal court
in Fort Lauderdale in April 2008 for allegedly helping wealthy
Americans evade taxes. He was later declared a fugitive.
Matthias Rickenbach: A Zurich lawyer, Rickenbach was indicted
with Schumacher on Aug. 20 in Fort Lauderdale for allegedly
helping Americans evade taxes on UBS and NZB accounts. He was
declared a fugitive with Schumacher.
To contact the reporters on this story: David Voreacos in Newark, New Jersey,
at dvoreacos@bloomburg.net; Carlyn Kolker in New York at ckolker@bloomburg.net.
By David Voreacos and Carlyn Kolker
Last Updated: January 8, 2010 17:04 EST
PDF Version
|