Default Judgment Entered Against Convicted Defendant Who Agreed to Penalty (2/27/19)

In  United States v. Sarshar, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27845 (C.D.Cal.2019), the court rendered default judgment against Masud Sarshar in the Government's FBAR collection suit to recover a willful FBAR penalty of $18,242,537.65 plus interest.  (I don't provide a link because it is a straight default judgment after the defendant had already agreed to the penalty at sentencing (see below).)

Sarshar had previously pled for conspiracy and tax obstruction and was sentenced to 24 months in prison.  See my prior blogs (reverse chronological order):

• Taxpayer with Israeli Bank Accounts Sentenced to 24 Months (Federal Tax Crimes Blog 3/13/17; 3/18/17), here.
• Another Plea to Offshore Account Tax Crimes (Federal Tax Crimes Blog 8/1/16), here.

The sentencing blog entry notes from the DOJ Press Release:

 In addition to the term of prison imposed, Sarshar was ordered to serve three years of supervised release and to pay more than $8.3 million in restitution to the IRS, plus interest and penalties. Sarshar also agreed to pay an FBAR penalty of more than $18.2 million for failing to report his Israeli bank accounts.

Since Sarshar had already agreed to the FBAR penalty, the suit was just a formality required by the 2 year period to file the suit.