UBS tax evader cites Holocaust in seeking leniency

MIAMI -- A former watchmaker who pleaded guilty to tax charges in the probe of Swiss bank UBS is citing his parents' Holocaust experience in seeking a lenient prison sentence.

The attorney for 65-year-old Jack Barouh says he was driven to hide wealth in a UBS account by his parents' escape from the Nazi attempt to exterminate Jews during World War II. The attorney says many children of Holocaust survivors compulsively seek to hide nest eggs in case similar events happen again.

Prosecutors on Friday will seek nearly two years in prison for Barouh, who pleaded guilty in February to falsifying a tax return. Barouh wants one year's home detention.

Barouh, of Golden Beach, founded luxury brand Michele Watches, which sold for $50 million in 2004.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/04/23/1594188/ubs-tax-evader-cites-holocaust.html#ixzz0hNrGtvR6