The estate of software billionaire Robert Brockman agreed to pay $750 million in back taxes and penalties to the Internal Revenue Service, resolving a civil case over Brockman’s alleged decades-long scheme to hide billions from the authorities.
Brockman, known for his investments in the private equity software firm Vista Equity Partners, died in 2022 while awaiting trial for what prosecutors said was one of the largest tax fraud cases in US history.
The IRS continued to seek recovery from his estate through a civil lawsuit before the parties reached the settlement. An order signed Tuesday by US Tax Court Judge
Brockman was indicted in 2020 on 39 counts including tax evasion, wire fraud, money laundering and other offenses. The IRS alleged a decades-long scheme to defraud investors and conceal about $2 billion in income from the IRS, using a web of offshore entities in Berbuda and Nevis. The investigation led to larger scrutiny of a so-called “shell bank loophole” that allowed offshore banks to accept funds from U.S. taxpayers without reporting them.
The IRS alleged that Brockman continued to shift assets to avoid paying a tax bill it assessed at $1.4 billion as of Febuary 2022, and demanded payment via an immediate levy, leading to a lawsuit in a Texas district court. Brockman argued he was suffering from dementia at the time,
Brockman also petitioned the Tax Court in 2022 but died before the case’s 2023 trial in Houston.
McDermott Will & Schulte LLP represented Brockman’s estate. Attorney Frank Jackson did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
The case is Estate of Robert T. Brockman v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, T.C., No. 764-22, Decision 12/23/25.
(Updates with additional reporting)
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