Business

Uncle Sam draws bead on 150 tax cheats

Wealthy American tax cheats, watch your backs!

That was the message Uncle Sam sent out yesterday: a warning that federal prosecutors were investigating more than 150 US citizens suspected of dodging federal taxes by parking money and assets in Swiss bank accounts controlled by UBS.

The revelation came ahead of UBS’ expected release of thousands of names of Americans who set up Swiss bank accounts in order to avoid paying US taxes. Those names could be released as soon as today.

Acting US Attorney Jeffrey Sloman disclosed the size of the probe in a filing that argued for a 30-month prison sentence for ex-UBS banker Bradley Birkenfeld, who helped a number of clients hide assets from authorities and has since aided investigators in cracking open the tax-cheat scheme. He reached a plea deal on criminal charges last June.

Birkenfeld — who once smuggled a cache of diamonds in a tube of toothpaste for a client seeking to avoid declaring the gems — is seeking a five-year probation, according to court documents.

UBS earlier this year handed over the names of 250 clients. The 150 currently under investigation are said to be part of that group. The bank also agreed to pay a $780 million fine to avoid prosecution.

However, the feds demand that UBS turn over the names of 52,000 US-based UBS clients believed to be tax dodgers — something the Swiss bank has resisted, escalating the affair into a diplomatic tussle that has involved Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

So far, prosecutors have won guilty pleas from three Florida residents on charges of using UBS accounts to get out of paying their fair share in taxes. A fourth defendant, John McCarthy of California, was recently slapped with criminal charges.