Billionaire Robert Brockman is claiming dementia as an excuse to deflect charges that he used offshore accounts to conceal roughly $2 billion in income from the Internal Revenue Service. Brockman has pleaded not guilty to 39 criminal counts and claimed in court documents that he cannot be tried because he is suffering from dementia and is unable to assist in his own defense. Prosecutors countered this argument, saying that he could be faking a mental decline in order to avoid charges. A competency hearing is scheduled for June, and if the court sides with Brockman all charges could be dropped. Prosecutors say that Brockman’s doctors have an apparent conflict of interest because they are affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine, which the Brockman Trust has donated millions to, as well as Brockman serving as a Board Trustee. Prosecutors allege that Brockman began seeking medical evaluations shortly after a 2018 raid on the home of Bermuda attorney Evatt Tamine, who helps manage the offshore funds. Tamine has agreed to cooperate with authorities and has given them access to an encrypted email server. He says that he was instructed by Brockman to keep records on an encrypted USB dongle carried in a different location in luggage when traveling and to run a program called “Evidence Eliminator,†on the dongle.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/former-ceo-accused-of-biggest-tax-fraud-ever-wins-transfer-of-case-to-houston-11609802702
