The battleground in the government’s ongoing war against financial criminals shifted to a Brooklyn courthouse last month, as another UBS defendant was sentenced after he pleaded guilty to concealing a foreign bank account. Prosecutors alleged that 73-year-old Gabriel Gabella, an Italian citizen, failed to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) to disclose his ownership of a Swiss bank account held at Union Bank of Switzerland in tax years 2006 and 2007.

Mr. Gabella faced a maximum 60 months in prison, and a guideline range of 24 to 30 months. However, U.S. District Judge Jack Weinstein sentenced him to three years’ probation and a $50,000 fine. In addition, Mr. Gabella paid a civil penalty of $3.1 million, which was about half the value of his account in 2007, and $239,000 in back taxes. Read More