Summary

NAME: US UBS 20091028I TAPE: EF09/1014 IN_TIME: 11:26:35:00 DURATION: 00:01:10:03 SOURCES: AP TELEVISION DATELINE: Miami, 28 Oct 2009 RESTRICTIONS: SHOTLIST: 1. Prosecutors walk into court 2. Pull out to exterior of federal courthouse in Miami 3. Steven Michael Rubinstein arrives at court for sentencing, accompanied by his lawyer and his wife, Pamela ++video quality as incoming+++ 4. Medium tilt-down of federal courthouse 5. Setup of Rubinstein's attorney Robert Panoff at his desk 6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Robert Panoff, Attorney for Steven Michael Rubinstein: "We believe it was a fair and just sentence. We're very grateful for Judge Cooke's understanding of the situation. It shows the importance of cooperating early and providing substantial assistance to the government in a timely, complete and honest and truthful fashion." (Reporter: "And you were telling me about your client; he is relieved?") "He's greatly relieved, and his wife is greatly relieved." 7. Various of US flag outside federal courthouse STORYLINE: A wealthy accountant who provided extensive help in the investigation into tax evasion by the Swiss bank UBS AG was sentenced to a year of house arrest on Wednesday in Miami. Steven Michael Rubinstein was convicted after earlier admitting he concealed about six (m) million US dollars in assets from the IRS (Internal Revenue Service). The 55-year-old was the first US citizen charged in the investigation. US District Judge Marcia Cooke said his prosecution sent a message around the globe about the risks of hiding assets in offshore accounts. She added that he deserved credit for helping US investigators find more tax cheats and crooked bankers within UBS and other institutions in Switzerland and elsewhere. Rubinstein, who was accompanied to the sentencing by his wife, will be on probation for three years, including the year of house arrest, with electronic monitoring and travel restrictions. He was also ordered to pay a 40-thousand US dollar fine. Prosecutors had sought a year of prison time, although they acknowledged Rubinstein's ongoing importance to the broader UBS investigation. After the sentencing, Robert Panoff, Rubinstein's lawyer, said his client was relieved and called it a "fair sentence." "It shows the importance of cooperating early and providing substantial assistance to the government in a timely, complete and honest and truthful fashion," he added. Rubinstein, a Boca Raton resident who is also a citizen of South Africa, said he was "embarrassed and ashamed" by his actions. He pleaded guilty in June to filing a false tax return and has been providing evidence ever since. Rubinstein's prosecution was the first after UBS in February reached a deferred prosecution agreement with the US Justice Department in which the bank agreed to turn over names of more than 150 Americans suspected of dodging taxes. To date, six others have also been charged, including a New York businessman who faces sentencing on Friday in Fort Lauderdale federal court, Florida. In August, UBS reached a second settlement with the U.S. that requires disclosure of another 4,450 American clients suspected of hiding assets in secret accounts. That agreement sent shock waves through tax haven countries around the world, serving notice of a new U.S. aggressiveness towards illegal use of offshore accounts. The IRS recently reported that a voluntary disclosure programme created to offer tax evaders a chance to come clean and avoid criminal prosecution had resulted in 7,500 taxpayers coming forward.