HOUSTON — A neuropsychologist who was an expert witness for the government in its tax evasion case against former Reynolds and Reynolds Co. CEO Bob Brockman said Brockman intentionally exaggerated his cognitive abilities to perform poorly on testing.
Dr. Robert Denney, who has conducted competency examinations of criminal defendants during his career for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, testified Tuesday that as a result of that exaggeration, Brockman’s memory test results obtained through expert evaluations related to his criminal case are not a reliable indicator of his true cognitive functioning.
“It’s my opinion that he has been exaggerating and malingering from the very beginning,” Denney testified during the second day of a hearing to determine whether Brockman is competent to stand trial, in response to questioning from prosecutors.
Brockman’s attorneys have not yet questioned Denney in their cross-examination Tuesday. In court filings, they have said Brockman “has either or a combination of Parkinson’s disease dementia, or Alzheimer’s disease dementia,” and that the dementia is “permanent, progressive and incurable.” His lawyers have said he is unable to assist them with his defense and has had trouble recalling information shared with him.
Federal prosecutors, meanwhile, intend to make the case this week that Brockman, 80, has been malingering, or feigning symptoms, to avoid prosecution on 39 counts that include tax evasion, wire fraud, money laundering and evidence tampering. He was indicted in October 2020 in what federal prosecutors say was a scheme lasting two decades to evade taxes on $2 billion in income.
“Looking at the total information in this case, I believe he is continuing to exaggerate and he is competent to stand trial,” Denney testified, citing a review of not only test results but his real-world activity, including depositions in legal matters and speeches to Reynolds and Reynolds employees in 2018 and 2019, at about the same time his doctors were evaluating his memory symptoms.
