ROCHESTER, N.Y., Nov. 6 (UPI) — A University of Rochester professor emeritus will pay a $100 million tax penalty for hiding funds in offshore banks, the Department of Justice said.
Dan Horsky, a 71-year-old emeritus professor of business administration, amassed millions of dollars by investing in start-up companies through offshore banks, including one in Zurich, Switzerland, which contained $200 million, according to the Justice Department.
Horsky created a nominee entity known as “Horsky Holdings” along with accounts at the bank in Zurich to conceal his financial transactions and financial accounts from the IRS and the U.S. Treasury Department and avoid paying required taxes, leading to the $100 million penalty, investigators said.
“You can’t hide from the IRS,” U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente said. “Horsky went to great lengths to hide assets in secret accounts overseas in order to avoid paying his share of taxes to the IRS. Today’s plea shows that we will continue to prosecute those who engage in this criminal activity.”
Horsky is a citizen of the United States, the United Kingdom and Israel, and the Justice Department said the bank in Zurich was aware of his U.S. residence.
In order to conceal his interest in the accounts in the Zurich-based bank, Horsky gave control of the accounts to another individual who filed a false expatriation statement of their U.S. citizenship to ensure the IRS would remain unaware of his control.
Horsky’s criminal sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 10, when he will face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison and possible additional monetary penalties.
