Aug. 8—Robert Brockman, the Texas entrepreneur who bought Dayton-area auto services and software company Reynolds & Reynolds, died Friday at age 81.

Facing federal tax charges, Brockman stepped down as chief executive of Kettering-based Reynolds & Reynolds in November 2020. Former Reynolds President and Chief Operating Officer Tommy Barras assumed that role at the time.

Brockman, a resident of Texas and Colorado, had a history of being an aggressive, successful businessman who has made bold moves.

In 2006, the then-65-year-old entrepreneur ran Universal Computer Systems, a Houston company he started in his living room more than three decades before, when he took over what was then a much larger competitor, Dayton-based Reynolds and Reynolds Co., in a $2.8 billion deal.

But he was indicted in 2020 in what was called the largest tax evasion case against an individual in the United States.

In their October 2020 indictment, prosecutors said a Brockman subsidiary, Dealer Computer Services Inc., borrowed $2.4 billion to finance the merger of Universal Computer Systems and Reynolds, paving the way to his ownership of the local company.

Prosecutors presented a portrait of Brockman of operating a secret web of Caribbean business entities to conceal $2 billion in investment income, evading taxes on the income.

"The allegations made by the Department of Justice focus on activities Robert Brockman engaged in outside of his professional responsibilities with Reynolds & Reynolds," a spokesperson for Reynolds and Reynolds said in 2020. "The company is not alleged to have engaged in any wrongdoing, and we are confident in the integrity and strength of our business."

In 2020, Bloomberg reported that Swiss prosecutors froze more than $1 billion in bank accounts belonging to Brockman.

More recently, prosecutors and defense attorneys argued about whether Brockman was competent to participate in his defense. He was ruled competent in May.