Tax Evasion by a South Korean National

A South Korean national who lives in Orange County has been charged with tax evasion for failing to report interest income he earned from deposits in foreign bank accounts. In his plea agreement, he agreed to pay $573,916 in back taxes for the eight years plus penalties. Because he also failed to report the existence of the accounts, the plea agreement calls for him to pay a 50 percent penalty on one of his foreign accounts that held up to approximately $18 million. The statutory maximum sentence for the tax evasion offense is five years in federal prison. He is scheduled to make his initial court appearance in this case in United States District Court on April 26. For more details, please see an article here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/orange-county-man-agrees-plead-guilty-tax-evasion-failing-report-interest-millions

The primary purpose of FATCA and FBAR is to prevent the use of offshore bank accounts and similar shelters as a means of hiding taxable income from the IRS. Its intent is to make these international banking practices more transparent. More than 80 nations around the world have agreed to comply with FATCA, including Russia and China.

If you have foreign financial assets and are not sure whether you are in compliance, we urge you to consult with tax attorneys or your tax service provider.