Saturday 6 August 2022 03:58 PM Software entrepreneur Robert Brockman dies of dementia aged 81 dies while ... trends now
A billionaire tech entrepreneur has died of dementia aged 81 while fighting a $2 billion tax evasion claim - the largest ever made against a single person by American prosecutors.
Robert Brockman died Friday night while receiving hospice care, his lawyer Kathy Keneally said.
The Houston-based businessman's death came in the midst of a $2 billion tax fraud claim brought against Brockman by prosecutors.
Lawyers for Brockman insisted his dementia - which they say had been worsened by Alzheimer's - made him unfit to stand trial. But a judge ruled that he was competent to face the charges in May this year.
Brockman was born in Florida to a modest upbringing with a gas station owner father and physiotherapist mother, according to Bloomberg, but died with a net worth of about $4.7 billion.
He made his riches teaching himself programming and eventually developing software that allow vehicle dealers to run business more efficiently.
The 81-year-old left behind his wife of 53 years, Dorothy and a son Robert II; as well as his brother David, a daughter-in-law and two grandchildren.
Brockman was indicted in 2020 on 39 counts, including wire fraud, tax evasion and money laundering that the U.S. Department of Justice said totaled a $2 billion scheme to conceal his income and defraud investors of his Reynolds and Reynolds company.
Robert Brockman, a software entrepreneur who made a massive fortune before being indicted in the largest individual tax evasion case in US history, has died. He was 81
The 81-year-old left behind his wife of 53 years, Dorothy (pictured right) and a son Robert II; as well as his brother David, a daughter-in-law and two grandchildren
In filings submitted to court in April, Brockman's defense said he contracted COVID in December, which caused him to be hospitalized over toxic metabolic encephalopathy (TME), an acute cerebral dysfunction. They claimed COVID and TME has worsened his dementia. A judge, however, ruled him competent in May
Brockman's lawyers, however, argued that the billionaire was incompetent to stand trial, claiming in filings submitted in April that his Parkinson's disease caused dementia, which only grew worse after he contracted COVID in December.
In the filings, the lawyers said Brockman was hospitalized in January with toxic metabolic encephalopathy (TME), an acute cerebral dysfunction that can be caused by COVID, claiming that, 'For patients already suffering from dementia, COVID-19 and TME can exacerbate the existing dementia and accelerate cognitive decline.'
The lawyers added: 'During a February 15, 2022 examination by Dr. James Pool, Mr. Brockman’s primary care physician, neuropsychological testing was performed to assess Mr. Brockman’s current cognitive status. Dr. Pool concluded that Mr. Brockman’s condition had progressed to severe dementia.'
The attorneys also noted that follow-up testing backed-up the conclusion that Brockman was less mentally competent than when the software tycoon had his last evaluation in October.
George Hanks, the judge presiding over the case, had previously heard arguments about Brockman's dementia claims in November but has yet to rule on the issue.
The case involving Brockman accuses him of hiding $2 billion in income from the IRS over two decades using a web of off-shore companies in Bermuda, and St. Kitts and Nevis.
The indictment alleged Brockman appointed nominees to manage the off-shore entities for him as a means of hiding his involvement, saying he even went so far as to establish a proprietary encrypted email system and use code words such as 'Permit,' 'Red fish' and 'Snapper' to communicate.
The prosecution claims Brockman's sprawling network of offshore trusts grew to The Cayman Islands, Singapore, the British Virgin Islands and the Isle of Man.
Authorities had been investigating Brockman over the tax fraud allegations for several years and prosecutors claim he found out about the probe as early as 2016.
Prosecutors allege that Brockman started seeking medical evaluations for his mental health shortly after a 2018 raid on his attorney's home in Bermuda, according to
