$2 bil. tax fraud case vs. Texas billionaire is largest ever
SAN FRANCISCO — Federal prosecutors charged Texas billionaire Robert Brockman last week with a $2 billion tax fraud scheme, what they say is the largest such case against an American.
Department of Justice officials said at a news conference Thursday that Brockman, 79, hid capital gains income over 20 years through a web of offshore entities in Bermuda and Nevis and secret bank accounts in Bermuda and Switzerland. Prosecutors announced that the CEO of a private equity firm that aided in the schemes would cooperate with the investigation.
The 39-count indictment unsealed Thursday charges Brockman, the chief executive officer of Ohio-based software company Reynolds and Reynolds Co., with tax evasion, wire fraud, money laundering, and other offenses.
Prosecutors also announced that Robert F. Smith, founder and chairman of Vista Equity Partners, will cooperate in the investigation and pay $139 million to settle his own tax probe. Smith, 57, stunned a senior class last year when he promised to wipe out the student loan debt of the entire graduating class at Morehouse, a historically Black all-male college.
“Complexity will not hide crime from law enforcement. Sophistication is not a defense to federal criminal charges,” said David L. Anderson, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California. “We will not hesitate to prosecute the smartest guys in the room.”
Brockman appeared in federal court from Houston via Zoom Thursday. He entered a plea of not guilty to all counts and was released on $1 million bond, said Abraham Simmons, spokesman for the Northern District of California.
“Mr. Brockman has pled not guilty, and we look forward to defending him against these charges,” said his attorney, Kathryn Keneally, in an email.
Forbes lists Smith as No. 461 on its billionaires list, with a net worth of more than $5 billion.