Late billionaire's heirs agree to pay IRS $750 million to settle biggest individual tax fraud case in US history
Robert Brockman was accused of hiding $2billion in income from the IRS, the largest tax fraud claim ever made against a single person in the US. A civil case continued in tax court after his death.
The heirs of a late billionaire accused of being a tax cheat have agreed to pay $750 million to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to settle a mammoth civil fraud case against him.
The estate of tech entrepreneur Robert Brockman reached the deal Tuesday to end a yearslong legal battle that started when he was indicted in 2020 on 39 counts.
Brockman was accused of running a 'scheme' to hide about $2billion in income from the IRS.
That marked the largest tax evasion claim ever made against a single person by American prosecutors.
Charges against Brockman also included wire fraud and money laundering.
He died in August 2022 while in the middle of his criminal case, about a month after a judge ruled that he was competent to stand trial despite suffering from dementia.
Brockman was survived by his wife of 53 years, Dorothy, his son Robert II, his brother David, a daughter-in-law and two grandchildren.
Now, his estate has agreed to pay back $456million in back taxes and $294million in penalties as part of a separate civil case, per the Wall Street Journal.
In 2020, Robert Brockman was charged with running a 'scheme' to hide about $2billion in income from the Internal Revenue Service
Brockman was survived by his wife Dorothy (right), his son Robert II, his brother David, a daughter-in-law and two grandchildren
Brockman was worth about $4.7billion when he died, according to Forbes.
Prosecutors said he owned a Houston mansion worth about $8million, a ski cabin in Aspen, Colorado, a Bombardier private jet and a 209-foot yacht.
The former chief executive of Reynolds & Reynolds Co was accused of hiding his vast income from the IRS over two decades.
He allegedly used a web of off-shore companies in Bermuda, and St. Kitts and Nevis.
The indictment alleged Brockman appointed nominees to manage those entities for him as a way to hide his involvement.
He even established an encrypted communications system and would use code words such as 'Permit,' 'Red fish' or 'Snapper' to communicate.
The tech billionaire was also accused of directing 'untaxed capital gains income to secret bank accounts' across Bermuda and Switzerland.
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