FLORIDA — The former CEO of Latitude 360 has pleaded guilty to payroll tax fraud, said the US Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida (USAO).
Brent Brown, 55, formerly of Jacksonville, has pleaded guilty to failing to pay over payroll taxes withheld from employees. Brown faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison, said United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg.
As part of his plea deal, Brown agreed to pay the IRS $3,832,360.48 in restitution for unpaid payroll taxes, which include both taxes withheld from employees and taxes that the business should have paid.
A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreement, Brown was the Chief Executive Officer of Latitude 360, Inc., and the manager of its subsidiaries, including Latitude 360 Jacksonville, a Jacksonville entertainment complex that featured bowling, dining, and dancing.
Brown exercised oversight over every aspect of the company’s business affairs, including payments of wages to the company’s employees and the disposition of funds in the company’s bank accounts. It was his responsibility to collect, truthfully account for, and pay over the company’s payroll taxes.
Latitude 360 withheld taxes from employee wages, including federal income taxes and Federal Insurance Contributions Act, or “FICA” taxes, which were required periodically to be remitted to the Internal Revenue Service. Brown, on behalf of the company, filed quarterly tax returns that accurately reflected the payroll taxes due, but he caused the company to fail to pay over the payroll taxes to the IRS, said the USAO.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service—Criminal Investigation. Arnold B. Corsmeier and Laura Cofer Taylor, two assistant United States attorneys, are prosecuting it.
