Billionaire Who Said He Would Pay Off Morehouse Student Debt Admits to Tax Fraud

Robert Smith, the billionaire who went viral last year for paying off the debt of students at Morehouse College, admitted to an illegal scheme to conceal income and evade taxes by using offshore trusts and bank accounts for 15 years.

The Justice Department announced on Thursday that Smith entered a non-prosecution agreement, in which he admitted his involvement in the scheme and agreed to cooperate with the ongoing investigation. The billionaire will also pay back $139 million in taxes in penalties, and he agreed to abandon $182 million in charitable contribution deductions.

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Smith, the CEO of Vista Equity Partners, admitted to using third parties to conceal his beneficial ownership and control of the Excelsior Trust in Belize and Flash Holdings, a shell company. He formed these entities so that he could use them to avoid paying taxes.

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The billionaire, who lives in Austin, Texas, did not report over $200 million of partnership income as a result of the scheme.

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Smith’s case is connected to another billionaire, Robert Brockman, who on Thursday was charged with hiding $2 billion in income from the IRS. {snip}

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