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Los Angeles Man Guilty of Failing to Report Offshore Accounts
A Los Angeles man has pleaded guilty to willfully failing to report over $1 million in Israeli offshore accounts, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.
Ben Zion Birman, the defendant, held offshore accounts in Israel at Bank Leumi Le-Israel B.M. from 2006 to 2011. He willfully failed to file with the Department of Treasury an FBAR for calendar year 2010, despite having over $1 million in Bank Leumi accounts.
In an effort to further hide his money, Birman instructed Bank Leumi to hold bank mail from delivery to the United States, and obtained access to his offshore funds through the use of “back-to-back” loans, which were designed to enable borrowers to tap their concealed accounts.
These lending arrangements permitted Birman to have funds issued by Leumi’s U.S. branch that were secretly secured by funds in his undeclared accounts in Israel.
Bank Leumi, the bank involved in the case, entered into a deferred prosecution agreement in December 2014 after admitting to conspiring from at least 2000 until early 2011 to aid and assist U.S. taxpayers to prepare and present false tax returns by hiding income and assets in offshore bank accounts in Israel and other locations around the world.
Under the terms of the deferred prosecution agreement, Bank Leumi paid the United States a total of $270 million and continues to cooperate with respect to civil and criminal tax investigations.
“The Department of Justice is committed to vigorously investigating and prosecuting offshore account holders who maintain undeclared accounts and willfully ignore their U.S. reporting and tax obligations,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman.
Birman faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, as well as a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. His sentencing is scheduled for December 10, 2018.
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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