Former Owner Of Latitude 360 Indicted For Payroll Tax Fraud

Jacksonville, Florida –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the unsealing of an indictment charging Brent Brown with 17 counts of failing to remit to the IRS payroll taxes withheld from employees of four businesses that he operated under the umbrella of Latitude 360. If convicted, Brown faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in federal prison on each count. 

According to the indictment, Brown incorporated Latitude 360 in Jacksonville around January 2014. He also operated four subsidiaries – Latitude 360 Jacksonville LLC, Latitude 360 Indianapolis LLC, Latitude 360 Pittsburgh LLC, and Latitude 360 Albany LLC, over which he exercised exclusive authority to determine the use of business funds. Those subsidiaries each withheld taxes from employee wages, including federal income taxes and Federal Insurance Contributions Act (“FICA”) taxes, which the subsidiaries were required to remit to the Internal Revenue Service periodically. Brown filed quarterly tax returns for each of the subsidiaries accurately reflecting the payroll taxes due for each of the subsidiaries but he caused those subsidiaries to fail to remit to the IRS the full amounts due. The taxes owed are alleged to total more than $1 million.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation.  It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Laura Cofer Taylor.