Former UBS Client Pleads Guilty to Failing to Report Over $4 Million in Swiss Bank Accounts
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and José A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CID), announce that Luis A. Quintero, of Miami Beach, Florida, pleaded guilty today to willfully failing to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR), in violation of Title 31, United States Code, Sections 5314 and 5322(a).
Sentencing has been scheduled for July 24, 2012. At sentencing, the defendant faces a maximum statutory sentence of up to five years in prison.
Quintero pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Federico A. Moreno to a one count Information charging him with the willful failure to file the FBAR on June 30, 2007 that was due for calendar year 2006. According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2006 Quintero had approximately $4 million in accounts at UBS AG, a Swiss bank. In his plea agreement, Quintero also agreed to pay a civil penalty of approximately $2 million, which is half the highest aggregate balance in the Swiss accounts.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Quintero sold wholesale quantities of imported perfumes and fragrances in Miami and throughout the Caribbean and Latin America. Quintero conducted business through several domestic S corporations, including Genesis International Marketing Corporation. In September 1998, Quintero opened a personal numbered account at UBS AG. In October 2004, Quintero caused two offshore corporations to be formed, which Quintero then used to open additional accounts at UBS. The offshore corporations were Murano Development Corp (Murano), incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, and Credimax Corporation, S.A. (Credimax), incorporated in the Republic of Panama.
In February 2005, Quintero caused an account to be opened at UBS in the name of Murano. That same month, Quintero closed his personal account at UBS and caused the transfer of approximately $2.3 million from his personal account at UBS to the Murano account. In February 2006, Quintero caused an account in the name of Credimax to be opened at UBS. Quintero was listed as the beneficiary of the Murano and Credimax accounts. The total aggregate value in these UBS accounts as of December 31, 2006 was $4,005,618.
From 2005 through 2007 Quintero used the Murano and Credimax UBS accounts to conduct financial transactions. For example, Quintero caused a business customer in the U.S. to send $314,000 to the Credimax UBS account. Quintero also caused the transfer of approximately $2.4 million from the UBS Swiss accounts to the accounts of U.S. corporations that Quintero controlled.
According to documents filed with the court and statements made during the plea hearing, Quintero knew that he was required to file an FBAR for foreign bank accounts in which he had an interest. Indeed, Quintero had previously filed FBARs for years 2001 and 2002 relating to bank accounts in Mexico in the name of Quintero’s U.S. corporation Genesis. Nonetheless, Quintero failed to file FBARs for the UBS Swiss accounts of which he was the beneficial owner, and which held more than $10,000 in 2005, 2006, and 2007. Quintero also failed to report his interest in the UBS Swiss bank accounts on Schedule B of his tax returns, Forms 1040 for 2005, 2006 and 2007.
U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the IRS-CID agents involved in this case. The case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ana Maria Martinez and Trial Attorney Todd Ellinwood of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.
In February of 2009, UBS entered into a deferred prosecution agreement under which the bank admitted to helping U.S. taxpayers hide accounts from the IRS. As part of the agreement, UBS provided the United States with the identities of certain United States customers.
United States citizens who have a financial interest in, or signature authority over, a financial account in a foreign country with an aggregate value of more than $10,000 are required to file with the United States Treasury a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts on Form TD F 90-22.1. U.S. citizens are also required to disclose the existence of such accounts on their individual income tax returns.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
