Golden Beach, FL — A woman from Florida has received a 30-month federal prison sentence for her involvement in a lengthy scheme that hid over $90 million in offshore assets and income from the IRS.
Gilda Rosenberg, who holds dual citizenship in the U.S. and Colombia, was found guilty of conspiring with her family to commit tax fraud for more than ten years. The U.S. Department of Justice reports that Rosenberg and her family utilized a complex network of undeclared bank accounts located in Switzerland, Andorra, Israel, and Panama to conceal their wealth, evade reporting obligations, and avoid paying millions in federal taxes.
A Secret Decades in the Making
Court documents reveal that the Rosenberg family has been operating offshore accounts since the 1970s, but their tax evasion intensified in the early 2000s when they centralized these accounts at Credit Suisse branches located in Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Although they informed the bank of their U.S. citizenship, they also confessed to attempting to keep their assets concealed from U.S. authorities.
The operation took a turn when Credit Suisse shut down the accounts in 2013, citing U.S. regulations. Subsequently, the family transferred their funds to banks in Israel, Switzerland, and Andorra—this time taking extensive measures to disguise their identities. Rosenberg signed fraudulent documents claiming she was merely a Colombian citizen while hiding her actual status as a U.S. taxpayer.
Prosecutors disclosed that Rosenberg and her accomplices neglected to submit mandatory Reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBARs) and filed fraudulent tax returns for several years. They purportedly fabricated fake loan agreements and business investment papers to justify money transfers—creating the illusion of compliance while actually concealing income from the IRS.
From 2009 to 2017, the IRS estimates that the family did not report more than $5.5 million in income, leading to a tax deficit exceeding $1.9 million.
Penalties and Restitution
As part of her sentence, Rosenberg has been ordered to pay:
$1.9 million in restitution to the IRS
Over $5.8 million in civil penalties for failing to file FBARs
Additional interest payments on the restitution amount
Rosenberg previously pleaded guilty to a separate wire fraud case in Texas involving a scheme to defraud the Army and Air Force Exchange Service by submitting false reports to avoid paying required commissions. “This case demonstrates that wealthy taxpayers who try to hide money overseas are not beyond the reach of U.S. law,” said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the DOJ’s Tax Division. “Offshore secrecy is no shield from the IRS.”
