A former watch company owner who held offshore accounts at UBS AG pleaded guilty to failing to tell U.S. tax authorities about $10 million in offshore assets.

Jack Barouh, the former owner and president of Tempus International Corp., admitted in federal court in Miami he skimmed money from his company and didn’t report income on $10 million in assets, including about $6 million held at offshore accounts at UBS.

Barouh, of Golden Beach, Florida, is the seventh UBS client to plead guilty to tax crimes since the Zurich-based bank agreed last Feb. 18 to pay $780 million to avoid prosecution for helping wealthy Americans evade taxes.

“Skimming from one’s business and placing the assets in a secret offshore bank account is a classic example of tax evasion,” U.S. Attorney in Miami Jeffrey Sloman said today in a statement.

Barouh set up so-called nominee accounts through Hong Kong, British Virgin Island and Panamanian companies, including one by the name of Domilou SA, according to a document accompanying Barouh’s plea agreement. He also held accounts at banks other than UBS, according to the document.

“Beginning in approximately 1976, the defendant skimmed income from his watch businesses and deposited the proceeds into the UBS bank account in the name of Domilou,” according to the court document.

2004 Fossil Sale

Barouh sold Tempus, which sold watches under the MW and MW Michele brands, to Fossil Inc. for about $50 million in 2004. Barouh would run Tempus after the purchase, Tempus said in a statement when the acquisition was announced. Fossil Chief Financial Officer Mike Kovar didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment.

Two unnamed Swiss money managers helped Barouh manage the offshore accounts, according to the court document. One, identified as Swiss money manager No. 1, “misappropriated” more than $5 million from the Domilou account, the document says.

A Swiss attorney, identified as Swiss attorney No. 1, negotiated a settlement with the first money manager and used that settlement, as well as funds from Domilou, to establish a British Virgin Island corporation called Similen Investments Ltd. for Barouh, the document says.

The attorney and Swiss money manager No. 2 were directors of the company, according to the document.

Starting in 2007, Barouh considered repatriating his accounts to the U.S., according to the court document. The unidentified Swiss attorney instead persuaded Barouh to transfer his assets to a Hong Kong nominee company named Amery Investments Ltd.

Barouh, who faces as many as three years in prison, is scheduled to be sentenced April 16. A U.S. magistrate judge yesterday set bail at $1 million.

The case is U.S. v. Jack Barouh, 10-cr-20034, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida (Miami).