Dan Rotta, a Miami resident, has pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States by concealing millions of dollars in assets and income in undisclosed Swiss bank accounts.
Between 1985 and 2020, Rotta hid over $20 million in assets across dozens of secret Swiss accounts at five different banks, including UBS, Credit Suisse, Bank Bonhôte, and Bank Julius Baer. These accounts were held under his own name, sham structures, and a pseudonym. He earned tens of millions of dollars in unreported income from these assets, which he used to fund a lavish lifestyle, causing significant tax loss to the IRS.
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Rotta employed increasingly complex schemes to conceal his accounts. He falsely claimed Brazilian citizenship and residency to keep the accounts open. After public reports of UBS’s criminal investigation for aiding U.S. tax evasion, he moved his funds to Credit Suisse and Bank Bonhôte.
In 2011, when the IRS obtained records of one of his accounts, Rotta changed the account documentation to make it appear his co-conspirator, a Brazilian national, owned the assets. He continued to control the funds and transferred millions for his personal use.
During an IRS audit, Rotta falsely claimed that funds withdrawn from the accounts were non-taxable loans from foreign nationals, providing fake promissory notes and false affidavits. He routed transfers through nominee and attorney trust fund accounts to conceal his use of the funds.
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Despite Rotta’s claims, the IRS assessed millions in additional taxes, penalties, and interest. Rotta filed a false petition in U.S. Tax Court, denying foreign accounts and attaching fictitious loan documents. Nominee account owners corroborated the false loan story to IRS attorneys.
In 2017, after Rotta presented evidence of fake loan repayments, the IRS reversed the deficiencies. Unbeknownst to the IRS, the “loan repayments” were routed back into Rotta’s accounts. He also created sham trust structures to transfer assets to the U.S. without alerting the IRS.
In 2019, aware of impending IRS access to contradicting account records, Rotta applied to the IRS’s voluntary disclosure practice. He made false statements, claiming the assets belonged to others and were non-taxable gifts.
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Rotta is scheduled for sentencing on June 4th and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A federal judge will determine the sentence.
The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation’s International Tax & Financial Crimes group and is being prosecuted by the Justice Department’s Tax Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.
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