3rd American pleads guilty to tax charges linked to UBS

— -- A New York businessman whose Swiss banker assured him that his offshore bank accounts would not be disclosed to the IRS Tuesday became the third American to plead guilty to tax charges related to an investigation of secret accounts at Swiss banking giant UBS.

Jeffrey Chernick, 70, the Stanfordville, N.Y., owner of a firm that represents Chinese and Hong Kong toymakers, pleaded guilty in a Fort Lauderdale federal court to filing a false tax return that failed to disclose $8 million in offshore assets, prosecutors said. He faces up to three years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Defense lawyer Douglas Tween couldn't be reached for comment.

Chernick's plea stems from a broader court battle in which the U.S. Justice Department seeks names of the American holders of 52,000 UBS accounts. UBS and the Swiss government have refused, arguing that compliance would violate their country's bank secrecy laws. A court conference to assess settlement talks in that case is set for today.

Chernick signed a court-filed statement of facts in which he acknowledged that he established a Hong Kong corporation in 1981 and opened offshore accounts in the firm's name to conceal commissions paid by Chinese and Hong Kong firms for toy sales in the U.S. He acknowledged establishing similar accounts over time, including at a UBS site in the Cayman Islands.

Chernick's admissions could increase settlement pressure on UBS in the broader case. The bank in February agreed to pay $780,000 in a settlement that deferred prosecution of charges that its bankers made repeated secret trips to the U.S. and helped wealthy American clients evade federal taxes.

The statement of facts shows an unidentified Swiss banker told Chernick that $45,000 paid to an unidentified Swiss government official produced an assurance that details of Chernick's UBS account were "not designated to be turned over" to federal authorities.

Chernick also acknowledged that a Swiss attorney not identified by name in the statement talked him out of disclosing his offshore holdings last year.