On January 7, 2025, after an appearance in Federal Court to change his plea, Matt Brown acknowledged in a Statement of Fact that he willingly and knowingly engaged in failed to pay trust fund taxes and filing false tax returns.
Exhibit A of the agreement reads:
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 only receive credit for any payments made to the IRS towards unpaid employment tax liabilities associated with these entities.
The case against Mr. Brown is only against him and no other owners of any of his companies, including his wife or parents.
The proposed settlements shared in the document are company specific and there are no indications of any settlement with or restitution for individual employees negatively impacted by the intentional actions of Mr. Brown.
The Magistrate's Plea Recommendation
Subsequent to the change of plea hearing where Mr. Brown plead guilty, Magistrate Judge Shaniek Mills Maynard prepared a REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION ON CHANGE OF PLEA.
In the four-page document created on January 13, 2025, Magistrate Judge Maynard details the events of the change of plea proceeding and documents the acknowledgements of Mr. Brown regarding his plea.
The recommendation is then provided to the United States District Judge for the Southern District of Florida, Aileen M. Cannon.
Judge Cannon is the person who will be responsible for sentencing Matt Brown.
Order Adopting Report and Recommendation
On January 28, 2025, Judge Aileen M. Cannon issued her ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION.
In it, she states she has conducted a review of Magistrate Judge Maynard’s report and finds no errors. She then states she accepts Mr. Brown’s guilty pleas.
Sentencing Scheduled for 4/8/2025 at 10:30am
Mr. Brown is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday, April 8, 2025, at 10:30am in US District Court in Fort Pierce.
As a reminder, 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.
We will be in court for Mr. Brown’s sentencing.
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