A Miami resident has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for conspiring to defraud the United States by hiding more than $20 million in Swiss bank accounts and lying to the Internal Revenue Service during a years-long audit.
Dan Rotta, a dual U.S. and Brazilian citizen, was sentenced Wednesday to 60 months in prison for a scheme that spanned from 1985 to 2020. According to court documents and statements made in court, Rotta concealed assets in dozens of secret accounts across five Swiss banks—including UBS, Credit Suisse, Bank Bonhôte, and Bank Julius Baer—using his name, sham structures, and at least one pseudonym.
Rotta earned tens of millions in income from these hidden assets, none of which he reported to the IRS, causing a substantial tax loss. He falsely claimed to be a Brazilian citizen living abroad in order to avoid U.S. tax obligations.
After news broke in 2008 that UBS was under investigation for helping Americans evade taxes, Rotta moved his funds to other banks. In 2011, when the IRS obtained records related to one of his accounts, he changed the account documentation to make it appear that a Brazilian co-conspirator owned the funds, even though he retained full control.
When the IRS audited him, Rotta denied ownership of the accounts and claimed the money he withdrew were non-taxable loans from foreign nationals. He backed up his story with fake promissory notes and affidavits. To hide his spending, he routed money through nominee and attorney trust accounts in the U.S.
The IRS assessed millions in taxes, penalties, and interest. Rotta then filed a false petition in U.S. Tax Court denying any foreign accounts and submitted fabricated loan documents. His nominee even traveled to the U.S. to support the false claims.
In 2017, after Rotta provided fake evidence that the “loans” had been repaid, the IRS reversed the tax assessments. Unbeknownst to the agency, the supposed repayments went straight back into accounts controlled by Rotta.
To further conceal his assets, Rotta used U.S.-based attorneys to create sham trust structures. On paper, the trusts were funded by his co-conspirator. In reality, the money came from Rotta’s Swiss accounts.
In 2019, when he learned the IRS would receive more Swiss bank records, Rotta tried to enter the IRS’s voluntary disclosure program. But in his application, he again made false statements—claiming the assets belonged to others or were gifts from a nominee account holder who, he said, had no children. That individual, in fact, had two.
In addition to the 60-month prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith for the Southern District of Florida ordered Rotta to serve three years of supervised release. Restitution will be determined at a later date.
