Financial Transparency Coalition

WASHINGTON — A deal with Switzerland settling U.S. demands for the names of suspected tax dodgers from a Swiss bank has a lot of wealthy Americans with offshore accounts nervously running to their tax advisers — and the Internal Revenue Service.

Two former employees of Edward H. Okun, who was sentenced to 100 years in prison on Aug. 4, 2009, after a three-week jury trial, were sentenced today before U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne for their roles in a scheme to defraud and obtain approximately $126 million in client funds held by The 1031 Tax Group LLP (1031TG).

Federal prosecutors are building criminal cases against 150 wealthy American clients of the Swiss banking giant UBS as part of a continuing investigation into tax evasion, a person briefed on the matter said Thursday.

Details of a historic settlement between the U.S. and Swiss governments over secret accounts at UBS remain, well, secret. But the case marks the biggest assault yet against Swiss banking.