A Florida man has pleaded guilty to $20 million in tax avoidance charges on employee pay and failure to file correct returns.
Matthew Brown, a Martin County man, operated multiple entities in the area as a reliable tax preparer and payroll administrator. One of those companies, Elite Payroll, was responsible for the wages and proper returns needed for staff in and around St. Lucie, Martin, and Palm Beach Counties.
Brown has pleaded guilty to Elite Payroll’s failure to declare Social Security, Medicare, and federal income taxes from the wages of its clients’ employees and then ensuring the IRS receives these monies.
IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating Brown’s wrongdoing, with Trial Attorneys Andrew Ascencio and Ashley Stein of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Porter for the Southern District of Florida prosecuting the case.
Man pleads guilty to $20M tax fraud
Mr. Brown allegedly invested in many lavish assets, including a “Valhalla 55 Sport Yacht, a Falcon 50 Aircraft and a collection of cars including Ferraris, Porsches and Rolls Royces,” said the report.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida made Mr Brown’s entry of the guilty plea public.
According to the court report, “between 2014 and 2022, Brown did not pay over $20 million in taxes withheld from Elite Payroll clients and other businesses he controlled. Brown charged his clients the full amount of their tax liabilities, filed false tax returns with the IRS substantially underreporting those liabilities, and pocketed the difference.”
It is estimated that the final tax loss for the undeclared Medicare, Social Security, and federal income taxes at the hands of Brown sits at $22 million.
A federal district court judge will sentence him, and Brown runs the risk of a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.
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