Robert Brockman, a businessman who made a fortune developing computer software and was charged with the largest tax fraud by an individual in the nation's history, has died.
He was 81 years old.
Brockman suffered from dementia and lived in a nursing home for the elderly.
Her attorney, Kathy Keneally, announced her death.
She had faced charges since 2020.
According to prosecutors, his fortune amounted to 4,700 million dollars.
He owned an $8 million mansion in Houston;
a lodge at a Colorado ski resort;
a Bombardier jet and a 209-yard (191-meter) yacht named Turbulence
(
Turmoil
).
[A man confesses to the murder of Saraí Llanos, the Latin migrant whom they wanted to prostitute with a false offer as a waitress]
Robert Brockman, the billionaire computer developer accused of tax fraud, on November 16, 2021. Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Brockman filed dozens of patents and founded the software company Reynolds & Reynolds, which was worth $5 billion and had more than 5,000 employees, according to Bloomberg.
His lawyers argued that he could not appear in court because he suffered from dementia, but a judge ruled in May that he was competent and set a trial date for February 23, 2023.
[A man confesses to the murder of Saraí Llanos, the Latina migrant who denounced a trafficking network]
"The government wasted time and resources charging a man who had progressive dementia and a terminal illness," Keneally said.
Brockman, originally from Florida, taught himself computer programming.
In 1970 he created a computer program that revolutionized the way auto dealers sell their vehicles in North America and Europe.
During his long business career, Brockman was accused of malpractice, including aggressive sales tactics and deceptive contracts.
"Brockman had only one rule: 'Don't do business with the government,'" said businessman Robert Tyson, who won a lawsuit against him.
"He didn't want the feds to look at anything," he said, according to Bloomberg.
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Federal prosecutors charged Brockman in October 2020 with using offshore shell companies, code names and disposable cellphones to hide $2 billion in income from the IRS, or Internal Revenue Service.
Most of this income came from Vista Equity, a private equity firm owned by Robert F. Smith, the nation's richest black man, whom Brockman helped start his finance company.
