A Florida man admitted in federal court docket to withholding greater than $20 million in taxes from staff’ paychecks and failing to remit these funds to the IRS. Matthew Brown, proprietor of Elite Payroll in Martin County, pleaded responsible to employment tax fraud and submitting a false tax return, in keeping with the Division of Justice (DOJ).
Court docket paperwork and statements revealed that between 2014 and 2022, Brown operated payroll companies for small companies throughout St. Lucie, Martin, and Palm Seashore Counties. His firm, Elite Payroll, withheld Social Safety, Medicare, and federal earnings taxes from staff’ wages. Nevertheless, as a substitute of transferring these funds to the IRS as required, Brown pocketed the cash.
Throughout this era, Brown charged his shoppers the total quantity of their tax liabilities however filed false tax returns that underreported the quantities owed. He used the stolen funds to buy luxurious property, together with a multimillion-dollar dwelling, business and residential actual property, a Valhalla 55 Sport Yacht, a Falcon 50 Plane, and a set of luxurious vehicles, together with Ferraris, Porsches, and Rolls Royces.
In whole, Brown’s actions resulted in a tax loss exceeding $22 million. These funds had been meant to be held in belief for Elite Payroll’s shoppers and paid to the IRS on their behalf.
Brown faces a most jail sentence of 5 years, supervised launch, restitution, and financial penalties. His sentencing date has not but been set. The federal district court docket decide will decide his sentence after reviewing the U.S. Sentencing Tips and different statutory elements.
The case was investigated by IRS Legal Investigation. Performing Deputy Assistant Legal professional Normal Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Division’s Tax Division and U.S. Legal professional Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida introduced the plea.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Andrew Ascencio and Ashley Stein of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Legal professional Michael Porter for the Southern District of Florida. Former Assistant U.S. Legal professional Diana Acosta contributed to the investigation.