A South Carolina former advisor and stockbroker pleaded guilty to tax evasion after he was charged with funneling millions of dollars into overseas holding companies to avoid paying taxes on his income.
Dennis Wayne Brite, 72, of Aiken, S.C., faces five years in federal prison, the U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina announced last week. He also faces a fine of $100,000 and must pay restitution.
Brite formed holding companies in Nevis, Belize and Sychelles and shuffled money among his accounts in Belize and the islands of St. Vincent and the Grenadines to avoid taxation, according to the Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service.
“Although Brite was required to report his money held in the foreign bank accounts, between 2013 and 2018, he failed to account for the over $2.5 million held overseas on his income tax returns,” the Department of Justice said.
According to BrokerCheck, a Dennis Wayne Brite of North Augusta, S.C., was listed as an advisor with Cambridge Investment Research from 2005 to 2016 and had only one disclosure on his record—a 2007 customer complaint involving an small annuity that was rejected by regulators. BrokerCheck lists him as not currently registered with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service. Brite will be sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Sherri Lydon after a report by the U.S. Probation Office, the report said.