Monday, March 18, 2013

HSBC India Depositor Sentenced (3/18/13)

A reader commented that Josephine Bhasin was sentenced on 3/8/11.  The docket entries from Pacer indicate that the only available document related to sentencing is a Sentencing Form, dated 3/8/13, here.  That form gives the core information related to the sentencing -- i.e., the sentence, fine, probation, etc., but not the underlying details.

My prior blog entry on the guilty plea is here.  The DOJ Tax Press Release for the original guilty plea is here.

From the limited information available:

Defendant:  Josephine Bhasin
Count of Conviction (By Plea):  Tax Perjury, Section 7206(1)
Conduct of Conviction:  Failure to report $168,000 interest and to answer foreign account question on Schedule B.
Incarceration:  0 months
Probation: 2 years
Fine: $30,000
Bank: HSBC India
High Balance (2008):  $8.3 million
Court:  USDC EDNY
Judge:  Arthur D. Spatt

Very little information is available.  I note that sentencing was delayed several times, with an indication that the defendant was cooperating.  The sentencing minute entry says:  "Transcript is sealed & is available to counsel upon request."

2 comments:

  1. From what I remember, this account was inherited, no entities etc. Her main problem was
    1) account size
    2) filing a false return AFTER being contacted by the DOJ.

    The sentence seems about right, but the fine is extraordinarily low. Perhaps she was assessed a civil FBAR penalty (the standard 1 year 50%) as well ? Otherwise this person ends up with a lower penalty than OVD participants, which doesn't seem fair. Of course, she has the additional trauma and social stigma of a criminal penalty as well.

    ReplyDelete
  2. According to the DOJ press release http://www.justice.gov/tax/txdv11467.htm she agreed to pay an FBAR penalty of 50% of the highest account balance.

    ReplyDelete

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