UBS Tax Probe: US Citizen Charged, First One

Associated Press:

MIAMI (AP) -- A yacht company accountant became the first U.S. citizen Thursday to be charged in the government's investigation into wealthy citizens who hid assets from tax collectors in the Swiss bank UBS AG.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Steven Michael Rubinstein, 55, of Boca Raton appeared in U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale on charges of filing a false tax return. He was ordered held until a hearing next week.

Read the whole story: Associated Press

Comments

[spinns17]

i got the rope and pitch fork ready.anti americans like this one, must pay for there cheating this great country.its called the american dream.not just your dream.

[tbonehead]

Where is the ourcry for these rich folks from hannity and Limbone; aren't they the spokemen for the rich class to keep the middle _ _ ass in check?

[TJCole]

I really don't know why with all the bad press, criminal under handed tactics, and employing Phil Gramm to do their dirty work for them...

Candidate Obama ever accepted so much money from them...of all the Wall St. sources that poured money into his campaign..this one at the time was the worst...!

Why did he, he didn't need their money with all his support from the people who put their hopes in him..?

[Name Not In Use]

"A yacht company accountant"

Why does this not read "A yacht company owner"?

Accountants of the world take notice!!!!!!!

YOU will be taking the hit for your masters.

Blow the whistle!!

Turn them in now1

Put together all the paper and mail it to the IRS with a copy to HuffPo.

[Name Not In Use]

Put Eliot Spitzer in charge of cleaning up some of this!

The guy is still my hero.

[cynthia3217]

Second!

[rhubardpi]

The IRS is on the case..??. I worked in the IRS Collection Division for 28 years. Four years before I retired I came across numerous cases where the IRS let people with huge tax debts get away with paying NOTHING on these debts, even though they could clearly pay most or all of the debt. I still have in my possession internal IRS documents, (it is illegal for me to have these actual taxpayer documents). I have been trying since 1997 to get someone to address this. So far zip. I told IRS commissioner Rosotti about this to his face, he responded he did not believe it could happen ... it violated internal policies. I then told him I had at my desk upstairs copies of actual taxpayer case write ups that prove what I was saying, if he'd like to see them.. His response was to look around the room and say, " Next question." So Rosotti is quilty of aiding and abetting TAX EVASION, which is a FELONY. If Rosotti does not like my statement he can sue me, he knows who I am. On 1-28-09 I wrote to Obama, Geithner, Senator Enzi, Tester and Baucus and included a copy of one of the taxpayer documents I illegally have. To date.....NO RESPONSE from anyone. Shouldn't they at least arrest me for having these IRS taxpayer documents, (They are unobtainable thru FOIA)? So at least let me wish each of you a very pleasant April 15th.

[Name Not In Use]

Can you post it all somewhere?

[rhubardpi]

I'll see if one of my grandkids can help me do it......would a blog work ??

[vippy]

I thought so. And I bet we have memers of congress in with it and they make the laws. Why would they not condone such laws if they had no personal interest. I remember in February 2008 when a Liechtenstein Bank Clerk got a new identity for handing over tax cheats to various countries.
The European Countries published the list, the USA did not. Take it from here!

[CR46]

One down many more to go!

[johnfoirdfw]

Can't wait till they look at Texas, Ft. Worth specifically..

[Carolab]

They’re Not Tax Havens … They’re Secrecy Havens

I pointed out in my January post the other point of these tax havens:

What Levin didn't say, of course, is that these tax havens allow them to avoid financial oversight, too.

And wrote another post giving a scary example of what those other reasons might include.

Masaccio pointed me to these two passages in AIG's 10K, which sound like they may describe what Gober is talking about:

Various AIG profit centers, including DBG, AIU, AIG Reinsurance Advisors, Inc. and AIG Risk Finance, as well as certain Foreign Life subsidiaries, use AIRCO as a reinsurer for certain of their businesses, and AIRCO also receives premiums from offshore captives of AIG clients. In accordance with permitted accounting practices in Bermuda, AIRCO discounts reserves attributable to certain classes of business assumed from other AIG subsidiaries. (10)

AIRCO acts primarily as an internal reinsurance company for AIG’s insurance operations. This facilitates insurance risk management (retention, volatility, concentrations) and capital planning locally (branch and subsidiary). It also allows AIG to pool its insurance risks and purchase reinsurance more efficiently at a consolidated level, manage global counterparty risk and relationships and manage global life catastrophe risks. [my emphasis]

So AIG admits that its got a company, AIRCO, that is reinsuring its own insurance, and AIRCO is using a Bermuda accounting trick to limit the reserves it holds for this reinsurance.

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2009/03/29/theyre-not-tax-havens-theyre-secrecy-havens/

[Carolab]

(cont'd)

AIG is almost certainly using a Bermuda subsidary (remember Spitzer's investigations of Coral Re?)

And here's another example of AIG using a secrecy haven to engage in risk and avoid regulation.

AIG is claiming that it overpaid taxes related to activities of an AIG-linked Panamanian corporation chartered in tax haven Panama. At issue is AIG-linked Starr International Company, Inc. (SICO), which, it turns out, is AIG's largest private shareholder. It is also the manager of a compensation fund for AIG employees, who are paid in AIG shares. Oh, and SICO's chairman is former AIG chairman "Hank" Greenberg.

Why is SICO, which is so extensively connected to U.S. firms and individuals, based in Panama? Well, the country applies low to no regulations and taxes on foreign firms registered there, of which there are 350,000 - second only to Hong Kong.

As part of a very dangerous game, companies are using them to pick and choose when they want to be a big holding company and when they want to hide an incredibly risky venture somewhere were no one will account for it in stock valuations of the holding company or find it when suing the company. That limits the ability of consumers and investors to hold the company responsible, yet it's not clear it really mitigates risk.

And, in the case of companies like AIG and Citi, it means taxpayers bear a great deal more risk than we're talking about.

[Name Not In Use]

"So AIG admits that its got a company, AIRCO, that is reinsuring its own insurance, and AIRCO is using a Bermuda accounting trick to limit the reserves it holds for this reinsurance."

AIG uses the Treasury for reserves. Pay attention.

[Igetitnow]

GOOD!!! Keep 'em coming!!

[sheila]

is it Phil Gramm? y'all haven't forgotten that Phil "You're a Nation of Whiners" Gramm is the big USB lobbyist who helped get them all that secrecy and evasion, right?

[rr52]

Reminds me of "The Untouchables" era. And the GOP wants to know where Obama is going to get all the money for his programs.. Let's see--End war at millions per day, reinstate 3% higher tax on wealthy, cut out fed agency waste, tax the crap out of new CEO bonuses, gouge polluters through cap and trade, and round up all the tax evaders to tax and penalize. Looks like a lot of income to me.

Looks like there is a new sheriff in town! LOL

[PhilipTaylor]

This is a START!

Many more will follow!

CORPORATE TAX HAVENS: 11 bailout: AmEx, AIG, BofA, Citigroup, GM, GMAC, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo. More than $227 billion to Caymans/Switzerland!


Senat0r 0rrin H@tch said 0il Companies thre@tening move to Sw!tzer1and if we raise their taxes! Move and tax the HECK out of their IMPORTS/at PUMP! Conservation/Alternative Energy reduces OIL Prices!

[rr52]

See a big rush to Panama after this. Companies in Panama do not have to disclose anything to anyone.

[Carolab]

Tell Congress About the AIG-Panama FTA Outrage!

As if the recent American International Group (AIG) scandal wasn't enough, we now know that AIG has the gall to sue the U.S. government, demanding over $306 million back in taxes it paid - twice the amount of the now infamous executive bonuses. At issue is Panama-based Starr International Company (SICO), AIG's largest shareholder, whose chairman Maurice Greenberg is AIG's former chair.

The Panama FTA, a hangover NAFTA expansion deal negotiated by the Bush administration, would empower SICO, and other Panama-registered corporations with offshore ties, with even more opportunities for corporate abuse.

The Panama FTA would grant companies like SICO expansive new rights to challenge U.S. public-interest regulations in foreign tribunals - to demand taxpayer compensation for regulations that undermine their expected future profits.

TAKE ACTION HERE:

http://action.citizen.org/t/1153/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=26931&track=dia032509

[Carolab]

Opposition to the Panama Trade Agreement
March 11, 2009, Washington, DC

http://pdamerica.org/articles/alliances/2009-03-11-08-13-09-alliances.php

Meanwhile, Levin seems only concerned about Panama's labor laws -- and he is the one supposedly cracking down on the tax havens!

http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE52A65820090311

[TrooAmerican]

I'm sure any "BigFish" pry donated to both BUsh and Obama, and McCain, and Clinton and they wont get prosecuted for anything. In fact, i'll bet they dont even get fined.

Those richest citizens are also often the ones who are closely connected to those writing the rules, and policing them.

[All in All]

Ur Bounty Is Stolen.