Matt Brown was in federal court yesterday for a change of plea hearing.
While he plead “not guilty” in his initial appearance on October 30. 2024, yesterday he pleaded guilty to the 2 charges filed by the U.S. Department of Justice, Tax Division. The two charges filed are 1) willful failure to pay trust fund taxes and 2) aiding and assisting in the filing of false tax returns.
Mr. Brown entered the courtroom with his counsel, Jeffrey Neiman, and his wife just before 10am. They took their seats in the gallery as they waited for his case to be called by the clerk. Mr. Brown’s was the final of the cases before the court yesterday.
According to the Clerk’s minutes documenting the proceeding, the entire process for Mr. Brown’s court appearance took 27 minutes.
Reviewing the Case
When his case was called, the clerk placed Mr. Brown under oath.
Magistrate Judge Shaniek Mills Maynard advised Mr. Brown that as he was under oath, if he answered any questions falsely, he could be prosecuted. She then asked Mr. Brown a series of questions to determine and ensure he understood the ramifications of his pleading guilty.
After going through the series of questions, Magistrate Judge Maynard advised Mr. Brown that he has the right to plead “not guilty” and have a trial. She advised him that this would afford him and his counsel the right to see and hear all of the government’s evidence and depose the government’s witnesses stating, “If I accept your guilty plea, there will be no trial and there will only be left the sentencing by the District Judge.”
She then asked Mr. Brown if he plead guilty or not guilty to Count 1 and then Count 2.
He plead guilty to both.
Magistrate Judge Maynard then stated it was the recommendation of the Court to accept his guilty plea as Mr. Brown was making his plea “knowing and voluntarily,” meaning he knows what he is pleading guilty to and has not been coerced nor promised anything to submit his plea.
Magistrate Judge Maynard asked Mr. Brown his age (51) and his highest educational background (college post-graduate).
She then asked Mr. Brown if he was satisfied with his counsel and the advice given by his counsel. He said he was.
Magistrate Judge Maynard then discussed the documents used to support the pleas being entered by Mr. Brown, which included a Plea Agreement and a Stipulated Factual Basis, also known as a Statement of Fact.
The Plea Agreement
Magistrate Maynard advised the plea agreement was a 10-page document and confirmed the signatures were those of the U.S. Attorneys, the defense attorney, and Mr. Brown.
She then discussed specific provisions of the agreement.
Paragraph 1: Mr. Brown is pleading guilty to Count 1 and Count2, which are Class D felonies.
Paragraph 3: Mr. Brown understands the maximum prison terms and fines that could be applied. For Count 1, the maximum term of imprisonment is up 5 years followed by supervised for release for up to 3 years and a $250,000 fine. For Count 2, the maximum term of imprisonment is up to 3 years followed by supervised release for up to 1 year and a $250,000 fine.
If the sentences run consecutively, the maximum time of imprisonment could be up to 8 years.
Paragraph 7: The US Attorney and the defense agree that the defendant should be sentenced under the applicable guidelines but Mr. Brown is subject to an enhancement because he abused his position of private trust but is also eligible for a sentence reduction if it’s determined he has no criminal history.
Paragraph 10: The defendant agrees to make full restitution. This section of the agreement is considerably longer than the other sections.
Section B reads: The defendant agrees that any and all restitution payments will be applied towards any liabilities associated with clients of Matthew Brown & Associates, Inc OBA Elite Payroll Solutions, including, but not limited to, those identified in the accompanying Stipulated Factual Basis as “EPS Clients,” before any payments are applied to any liabilities associated with any of the entities owned and operated by defendant, including, but not limited to, those identified in the accompanying Stipulated Factual Basis as “Brown Entities.”
Paragraph 11: States that the defendant waives all rights to appeal the conviction and any sentence imposed including any restitution to forfeiture. However, Mr. Brown *can* appeal any sentence that exceeds the maximum permitted by statute or that exceeds the sentencing guidelines.
However, if the government appeals the sentence, Mr. Brown is released from this section of the agreement specific to the waiver of appellate rights.
Statement of Fact
In order to complete the plea agreement, Mr. Brown had to sign a Statement of Factual Basis acknowledging the items to which he is pleading guilty. This document is primarily used to assert that the United States has enough to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
In this 8-page document, Mr. Brown acknowledges he filed false IRS documents on behalf of Elite Payroll clients, including filing false tax returns.
It also states that when notified by the IRS of the underreporting, Mr. Brown sent correspondence to the IRS was a result of a payroll error, knowing this was a false statement. This was done in an effort to avoid further scrutiny from the IRS and/or Elite Payroll clients.
It is reiterated that instead of paying funds he held in trust for his clients, Mr. Brown instead “purchased commercial and residential real estate including his multi-million dollar home and a collection of high-end luxury cars.”
As a reminder, Mr. Brown and his wife also purchased a yacht from Valhalla Boat Works.
The document also has an EXHIBIT A which includes the following statement: “In conjunction with the parties’ plea agreement, the United States and the Defendant, Matthew S. Brown, have agreed to restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) in the amount of $22,401,585. The chart below provides a breakdown of restitution amounts owed based on the years balances accrued for specific entities. As stated in Plea Agreement paragraph 10(e), the Defendant reserves the right to reduce this restitution amount and receive credit for any payments made to the IRS towards unpaid employment tax liabilities associated with these entities.”
What's next?
Mr. Brown is due to be sentenced Tuesday, April 8, 2025, at 10:30am in Fort Pierce. He will be sentenced by Judge Aileen Cannon.
As these are felony offenses, Mr. Brown potentially loses his right to vote, to hold public office, to serve on a jury, and to legally possess a firearm.
Pending his sentencing, Mr. Brown remains free as a result of the $500,000 surety bond secured at his initial appearance. As a reminder, a surety bond in federal court is a financial guarantee that a defendant will appear in court and meet other bail conditions. The amount is only assessed if the defendant violates the agreement.
We will be in court on April 8, 2025, for his sentencing.
NOTE: If you have been personally impacted by the activities of Mr. Brown, you can reach out to the Department of Treasury to advise them of your experience. Your statement will be shared with the US Attorney to be included as part of their request to the judge for consideration for Mr. Brown’s sentencing. You can send me a message for the Special Agent’s contact information and I will send it to you via private message.
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