Bank fraud and tax evasion have struck again, this time in the heart of Virginia. Susanne D. Rüegg Meier, a former Credit Suisse banker, pleaded guilty to conspiring with U.S. taxpayers and other Swiss bankers to defraud the United States.
According to the statement of facts and the plea agreement, Rüegg Meier admitted that from 2002 through 2011, while working as the team head of the Zurich Team of Credit Suisse’s North American desk in Switzerland, she participated in a wide-ranging conspiracy to aid and assist U.S. taxpayers in evading their income taxes by concealing assets and income in secret Swiss bank accounts.
Rüegg Meier was responsible for supervising the servicing of accounts involving over 1,000 to 1,500 client relationships. She was also personally responsible for handling the accounts of approximately 140 to 150 clients, about 95 percent of whom were U.S. persons residing primarily in New York, Chicago and Florida, which held assets under management totaling approximately $400 million.
Rüegg Meier admitted that the tax loss associated with her criminal conduct was between $3.5 and $9.5 million.
The conspiracy involved Rüegg Meier assisting many U.S. clients in utilizing their Credit Suisse accounts to evade their U.S. income taxes and to facilitate concealment of their undeclared financial accounts from the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). She took the following steps to assist clients in hiding their Swiss accounts: retaining in Switzerland all mail related to the account; structuring withdrawals in the forms of multiple checks each payable in amounts less than $10,000 that were sent by courier to clients in the United States and arranging for U.S. customers to withdraw cash from their Credit Suisse accounts at Credit Suisse locations outside Switzerland, such as the Bahamas.
Between 2002 and 2008, Rüegg Meier traveled approximately twice per year to the United States to meet with clients. Among other places, Rüegg Meier met clients in the Credit Suisse New York representative office. To prepare for the trips, Rüegg Meier would obtain “travel” account statements that contained no Credit Suisse logos or customer information, as well as business cards that bore no Credit Suisse logos and had an alternative street address for her office, in order to assist her in concealing the nature and purpose of her business.
Credit Suisse pleaded guilty in May 2014 for conspiring to aid and assist taxpayers in filing false returns, and was sentenced in November 2014 to pay more than $2 billion in fines and restitution.
Rüegg Meier faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 8. The defendant also faces a period of supervised release and a fine.
Defendant: Susanne D. Rüegg Meier
Criminal Charges: Conspiring to defraud the United States
City and State: Virginia
Date: Scheduled for September 8, 2023
Sentence: Five years in prison, supervised release, and a fine
Dollar Amounts: $3.5 to $9.5 million in tax loss
Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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