MIAMI, FL – Dan Rotta, 64, of Miami, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to defrauding the United States by concealing more than $20 million in undisclosed Swiss bank accounts, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida announced.
According to court documents, Rotta hid assets from 1985 to 2020 in various Swiss banks, including UBS, Credit Suisse, Bank Bonhôte, and Bank Julius Baer. He used the unreported income to fund a lavish lifestyle, purchasing luxury goods and financing international travel, while evading millions of dollars in taxes.
To evade IRS detection, Rotta falsely claimed he was not a U.S. citizen, using his Brazilian citizenship and foreign residency status to mislead financial institutions. After a 2008 UBS tax investigation, he moved his funds to other Swiss banks to avoid scrutiny.
In 2011, when the IRS obtained account records, Rotta altered financial documents to falsely indicate that a Brazilian national owned the assets, though he retained full control. During an IRS audit, Rotta falsely denied ownership and claimed that large withdrawals were tax-free loans, submitting fabricated documents to support his false claims.
In 2017, Rotta provided false repayment records, prompting the IRS to reverse tax deficiencies. However, the funds quickly returned to his control through concealed transfers. In 2019, knowing that Swiss banking records would soon be provided to the IRS, Rotta applied for voluntary disclosure, falsely claiming the assets belonged to others and were non-taxable gifts.
Rotta also used sham trust structures to secretly transfer assets into the U.S., falsely claiming that his co-conspirator had funded the trusts, when in reality, he was the true owner.
