Robert Brockman, a multi-millionaire software developer charged with the worst individual tax evasion case in US history, died Friday, August 5. HOUSTON, TEXAS According to a number of accounts, Brockman died at his home in Houston at the age of 81. .
Brockman, a self-taught software entrepreneur who created a system for car dealerships to operate electronically, had defended himself against more than $2 billion in tax evasion and money laundering charges since 2020. prosecutors say Brockman, who had a personal estimated net worth of $4.7 billion, owned a $20 million house in Houston, a ski lodge in Colorado, a Bombardier jet plane and the 209-foot boat “Turmoil”.
Kathy Keneally, Brockman’s lead attorney, who confirmed his death on Saturday, said Brockman suffered from dementia. Although his lawyers repeatedly argued that he could not stand trial, a judge ruled in May that the trial would continue. At a hearing in June, the judge decided to hold the trial in February 2023.
Robert Brockman
Who was Robert Brockman?
In Florida, where his mother was a physical therapist and his father ran a gas station, Brockman was born. He was the former CEO of Reynolds & Reynolds, an Ohio-based software company that provides enterprise solutions, and he had filed dozens of patents. In 1970, Brockman established the first Universal Computer Services, Inc. (UCS) as a service bureau to serve the needs of automobile dealerships requiring data processing services. He first worked from his living room in Houston, where he also learned to program computers. Reynolds and Reynolds were acquired by Universal Computer Systems in August 2006, combining their businesses as Reynolds and Reynolds.
In a 39-count indictment filed in October 2020, the government charged him with missing $2 billion in taxes, as well as wire fraud, money laundering and other offences. He had entered a plea of innocence. The alleged plot to hide billions of dollars in revenue from the IRS lasted decades, according to the Justice Department.
Brockman is survived by his wife of 53 years, Dorothy, his son Robert Brockman II, his brother and his two grandchildren, according to Bloomberg.
