UBS informant convicted in fraud case heading to Pennsylvania prison

UBS informant heading to Penn. prison

MIAMI — The key informant in the U.S. tax evasion probe of Swiss bank UBS AG is heading to a Pennsylvania prison to serve his sentence.

Attorneys for 44-year-old Bradley Birkenfeld say he’ll report Friday to the Schuylkill County Federal Correctional Institution in Minersville, Pa. Birkenfeld was sentenced to more than three years in prison after pleading guilty to fraud conspiracy.

The sentence has drawn criticism from whistleblower advocates as too harsh because of Birkenfeld’s importance in exposing tax evasion at UBS.

The Swiss bank last year paid a $780 million fine to the U.S. and agreed to turn over names of thousands of suspected tax dodgers.

A Florida federal judge rejected Birkenfeld’s attempt to win a more lenient sentence.