Brockman Estate Closes Record U.S. Tax Fraud Case with $750M IRS Settlement

The estate of late Texas software billionaire Robert Brockman agreed to pay $750 million to the IRS.

The estate of Robert Brockman, the Texas software entrepreneur accused of organizing what the government knows as the largest US fraud tax case ever filed involving an individual, came to a close this week. In order to resolve an extended civil legal battle with the IRS, Brockman's estate has agreed to pay $750 million in overdue taxes and penalties.

In 2020, Brockman was charged with a crime. Between 2004 and 2018, the authorities charged him with hiding more than 2 billion dollars in income through a web of offshore entities. The Wall Street Journal reported that the founder of a major automotive software company used code identities and encrypted servers to conceal communications in order to keep his financial empire secret.

The report further says that the wealth was tied to Brockman’s early investments in Vista Equity Partners. It is to be noted that Vista’s CEO, Robert Smith, previously settled his own related tax evasion case. The civil pursuit of Brockman’s estate continued even after the billionaire’s death in 2022 at age 81.

The estate will pay 294 million in civil penalties for the fraud and 456 million in unpaid back taxes for the 14 year period. The final amount of interest the estate may still owe is not included in the petition, which might raise the total.

The report claims that despite having a multibillion-dollar fortune, Brockman was notorious for his "penny-pinching" tendencies, which included eating frozen dinners on work trips and staying at inexpensive motels. He had a strong "anti-government streak," according to former colleagues.