Jay Clayton, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York | Department of Justice
Roderic Sage, a U.K. executive, pled guilty on May 8 to conspiring to defraud the United States by helping U.S. taxpayer-clients conceal more than $60 million in offshore accounts and evade income taxes, according to a statement from United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton. Sage appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Valerie Figueredo and entered his plea; the case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods.
The case highlights ongoing efforts by American authorities to target complex financial fraud schemes involving offshore entities and international cooperation in law enforcement.
“As admitted, Roderic Sage helped U.S. taxpayers conceal more than $60 million in offshore accounts through a scheme designed to hide assets from the IRS,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “For years, Sage and his co-conspirators used layers of nominee accounts and offshore entities to disguise the true ownership of these funds and evade U.S. taxes. Offshore schemes are not beyond the reach of American law enforcement, and this case shows the strength of international cooperation in identifying and dismantling complex financial fraud schemes. It is straightforward: tax fraud is a fraud on your fellow Americans, and they want tax fraudsters brought to justice.”
According to court documents, Sage was founder and CEO of a Hong Kong financial services firm between approximately 2008 and 2014 when he helped clients with undeclared bank accounts at Privatbank IHAG Zurich AG (IHAG), a Swiss private bank, conceal their assets using what was called the "Singapore Solution." This involved transferring funds through nominee bank accounts in Hong Kong before returning them under new asset management structures meant to hide ownership from authorities.
Sage was arrested on May 7, 2025 in the United Kingdom before being extradited to face charges in New York federal court.
Sage pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy carrying up to five years' imprisonment; sentencing is scheduled for July 30 before Judge Woods.
Clayton praised IRS-CI as well as agencies including Interpol, UK’s National Extradition Unit, Crown Prosecution Service, Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, Justice Department’s Criminal Division for their roles in arresting and extraditing Sage.
This prosecution is managed by attorneys from both SDNY's Complex Frauds & Cybercrime Unit as well as DOJ Tax Section staff Mark F. Daly among others.
The Department of Justice recently announced formation of its National Fraud Enforcement Division focused on investigating those who commit fraud against Americans—an effort supporting President Trump’s Task Force chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance.
