ATLANTA, GEORGIA – Gregg A. Kaminsky, a former UBS client, has been sentenced to federal prison for wilfully failing to file a Foreign Bank Account Report with the U.S. Treasury in connection with his concealment of income and assets in accounts in Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Thailand over several years.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney John Horn, federal tax revenue is crucial to protecting our borders, fighting terrorism, cybercrime, and other national security threats, providing disaster relief, and performing other critical government functions. This office is committed to investigating and prosecuting those who intentionally avoid paying their fair share, whether their schemes involve income earned or hidden offshore, here at home, or even in a virtual world.
Kaminsky, an Internet entrepreneur and Chief Executive Officer of Circlenet LLC, based in Atlanta, Georgia, owned and controlled a foreign bank account with Union Bank of Switzerland AG (UBS) from 2000 through mid-2009. By 2006, his UBS account held approximately $1.1 million. He caused funds to be wire-transferred from his UBS account in Switzerland to other foreign bank accounts controlled by him in Thailand and Hong Kong.
Kaminsky also caused his income from at least two different U.S. companies to be direct-deposited into his UBS account in Switzerland. However, over this period, Kaminsky did not disclose his UBS account or other foreign financial accounts to the U.S. Treasury Department as required, thereby concealing several hundred thousand dollars in taxable income, interest, and dividends from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
In addition, in 2007 and 2008, Kaminsky omitted his UBS account and associated income from Free Applications for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) that he electronically filed with the U.S. Department of Education in order to qualify for need-based federal financial aid to fund his tuition for an Executive MBA program at Emory University. At the time of the FAFSA applications, Kaminsky controlled over a half million dollars in his UBS account, which would have made him ineligible for federal student loan assistance.
The U.S. government has long been cracking down on individuals who hide income in undeclared bank accounts abroad. As stated by IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge, Veronica F. Hyman-Pillot, U.S. citizens who seek to avoid their tax obligations by hiding income in undeclared bank accounts abroad should be fully on notice that they will be held accountable for their actions, both civilly and criminally.
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Key Facts
- State: Georgia
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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