West Palm Beach, Florida – The Internal Revenue Service issued a rare apology to billionaire investor Ken Griffin for the unauthorized release of his tax records to the press. This apology also extends to other taxpayers whose information was breached. The IRS acknowledged its mistake in a statement released on Tuesday.
The incident arose from the case of Charles Littlejohn, a former IRS contractor who was sentenced to five years in prison earlier this year for leaking tax return information. Littlejohn provided tax details for Griffin and other affluent individuals to the nonprofit news organization ProPublica.
Griffin expressed gratitude to his team for securing an outcome that would enhance the protection of American taxpayers. The controversy started in 2021 when ProPublica published a series called “The Secret IRS Files,” revealing tax data of numerous wealthy taxpayers, including Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. The coverage delved into how some of the wealthiest Americans minimize their tax obligations.
The IRS condemned Littlejohn for violating his contract and breaching the trust placed in the agency to safeguard sensitive information. The agency admitted to failing to prevent Littlejohn’s criminal actions and unauthorized disclosure of Griffin’s confidential data.
As the founder of hedge fund Citadel worth nearly $42 billion, Griffin ranks as the 34th richest person globally. Following the breach, Griffin dropped a lawsuit against the IRS and the U.S. Treasury Department that he had filed in December.
ProPublica maintained that they were unaware of the identity of their information source and published the tax details in the public interest. The IRS highlighted substantial investments in data security to enhance taxpayer information protection, aiming for a more reliable process going forward.
Overall, the IRS’s apology to Griffin signifies a step towards accountability and improving their practices in handling taxpayer data. As the aftermath continues to unfold, stakeholders will be looking for assurances that such breaches will not happen again in the future.