Miami, FL – A Palm Beach Gardens man has been sentenced to 50 months in federal prison for defrauding the United States of more than $20 million in taxes. Matthew Brown, who operated several businesses in Martin County, including a payroll services company named Elite Payroll, failed to remit taxes withheld from employees’ wages over an eight-year period from 2014 to 2022.
Elite Payroll was entrusted by small businesses in St. Lucie, Martin, and Palm Beach Counties to manage payroll services, including the collection and remittance of Social Security, Medicare, and federal income taxes to the IRS. Instead of fulfilling these obligations, Brown orchestrated a scheme where he charged clients the full tax liabilities but submitted false employment tax returns to the IRS, significantly underreporting what was owed. This allowed him to pocket the difference.
In one instance during 2021, a client owed approximately $219,000 in taxes. Elite Payroll collected the full amount but reported only $32,000 to the IRS, keeping the remaining $190,000 for Brown’s personal use. With the illicitly obtained funds, Brown amassed a collection of luxury assets, including a multimillion-dollar home, a Valhalla 55 Sport Yacht, a Falcon 50 Aircraft, and numerous high-end vehicles, notably 27 Ferraris, Porsches, and Rolls Royces.
In addition to his prison term, Brown was ordered by U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon to serve two years of supervised release, pay $22,401,585 in restitution, and a $200,000 fine.
The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Porter and Trial Attorney Andrew Ascencio. The announcement came from U.S. Attorney Hayden O’Bryne of the Southern District of Florida and Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.
