UBS: Four ways to woo a tax cheat

Maybe there just isn't a mattress big enough to stuff that kind of cash. But that's where thousands of UBS's millionaire clients are likely wishing they'd kept their savings, rather than in the illegal offshore accounts now under investigation by the SEC for tax fraud.

Last week, the Swiss banking giant agreed to pay $780 million in fines and turn over the names of 250 U.S. clients. Investigators are now seeking the names of 50,000 more.

So how did UBS convince so many wealthy Americans to risk tax evasion charges? Turns out greed alone wasn't enough. Court documents made public last week show dozens of UBS "advisers" made over 3,500 trips a year to the U.S. from 2002 on to promote the scheme. Mixing business and pleasure, the trips lasted several weeks at a time and included the usual wining and dining with prospects at swank restaurants, hotels and clubs.

Potential clients were also wooed with special access to UBS-sponsored parties and events across the country, from high-end art shows, classical music concerts, professional tennis and golf tournaments and yacht races, federal investigators say. And while corporate logos these days are splashed across anything from lemon stands to commercial spacecraft, Swiss-based UBS prides itself on being a main partner in a number of premiere sports and cultural in the States.

So whether you're into music, art or sports, chances are you've bumped into a few of these million-dollar tax cheats at these and other UBS-sponsored events over the years: