As regular readers of our national tax law blog know, we frequently touch upon issues related to FBAR. For those unfamiliar with acronym, it stands for Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts. These reports are required for Americans who have accounts in foreign banks totaling $10,000 and above.
Failure to file an FBAR can have serious consequences that include large fines and even criminal prosecution. We read recently of three California men who have pleaded guilty to failing to disclose to the Internal Revenue Service foreign accounts that held millions of dollars. Now the men face up to five years each in federal prison, a news report states.
A Newport Coast man, 52, is linked by family to the other two: one is his brother, 55, and the other is his brother-in-law, 67.
"The days of being able to safely hide income and assets offshore and evade U.S. tax have come to an end," a prosecutor said in a statement. He added that foreign banks are sharing information with IRS and Department of Justice officials.
Prosecutors say that the 52-year-old had a number of Credit Suisse accounts in Switzerland from early 1999 for at least a decade. He had accounts as well at UBS from 1993 for at least 15 years.
Prosecutors say that the man and his brother also had joint undeclared accounts at the two Swiss banks. The brother-in-law also had unreported accounts at both UBS and Credit Suisse.
Though they were required to file FBARs, the three men did not do so from 2006 through 2009.
The men will learn of any prison time at their sentencing hearing in April. They have already agreed to substantial civil penalties. The brother will pay more than $2.6 million, the brother-in-law will pay $951,607 and the other man owes more than $1.3 million.
If you have not filed a required Foreign Bank Account Report (FBAR), a Chicago or Cleveland-based tax attorney at Robert J. Fedor, Esq., LLC, experienced in resolving FBAR-related concerns nationwide can begin the process of securing a non-prosecution agreement and filing required documents. Learn more about reporting foreign assets by clicking below.
