Dutch tax advisor Frank B. has been charged in New York for allegedly concealing more than $100 million from the US tax authorities, the IRS, for his clients. A prosecutor in Manhattan stated on Friday that, reports news agency Bloomberg.
The 63-year-old tax advisor from Naarden counted, among others, the famous DJs Afrojack and Tiësto among his clientele, as well as television presenters and fashion models, the ANP writes. According to the prosecution, his involvement in tax fraud would have lasted more than seven years.
According to the prosecution, his clients made millions of dollars every year. In some years, these customers became U.S. taxpayers, legally obliging them to pay U.S. taxes on their worldwide income. Among these clients, according to the prosecution, are two internationally renowned DJs, who have not been named.
According to the prosecution, B. carried out a strategy to illegally hide millions of dollars in income from the US government. This income had been earned by his clients outside the United States during their years as US tax residents.
‘deceptive manner’
B., as a tax advisor to many high net worth clients, was aware of the responsibility his clients had to pay U.S. taxes on their income, but he ignored this obligation and chose to fraudulently hide this income from the IRS. prosecutor.
A Dutch lawyer for B., Annabel Vissers, says her client believes he “acted within all international tax laws and tax treaties,” writes Bloomberg. “He worked in a legal framework that tax treaties provided for him,” said the lawyer. “The reason for setting up these structures in the first place is to avoid the risk of double taxation.”
B. was arrested in Italy earlier this year at the request of the US. He was taken back into custody this week after a positive extradition decision, the prosecutor said. He has been charged with conspiracy to commit fraud against the US and five counts of complicity in filing falsified tax returns. He could get five years in prison for this.