DC AG Sues Tech Billionaire for Alleged Tax Fraud

A Washington, D.C.-based tech executive billionaire made false claims about his residency to avoid paying more than $25 million in taxes to the District of Columbia, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine (D) alleged in a lawsuit his office announced Wednesday. Racine filed a tax fraud case against Michael Saylor, who according to the AG, has lived in D.C. for more than a decade and has never paid district income taxes while operating his Virginia-based data tracking company MicroStrategy. Saylor and the company said Racine's claims aren't valid. Racine brought the lawsuit under a recently updated law that allows whistleblowers to collect a percentage of money recouped in tax fraud cases. Racine is seeking the recovery of tens of millions of dollars in unpaid income taxes and penalties. According to Racine, the former MicroStrategy CEO publicly called D.C. home since around 2005: “He lives in a 7,000 square foot penthouse on the Georgetown waterfront and has docked at least two of his luxury yachts in the District for long periods of time.” Racine said the whistleblower has documentation, including MicroStrategy flight logs and social media posts showing Saylor claimed Florida residency. The complaint alleges Saylor “openly bragged to friends and acquaintances about evading DC taxes and encouraged others to follow his example.” Saylor said in a statement that he moved into a historic house in Miami Beach a decade ago and disagrees with Racine’s claims: “Although MicroStrategy is based in Virginia, Florida is where I live, vote, and have reported for jury duty, and it is at the center of my personal and family life.” MicroStrategy said the case is a “personal tax matter” involving Saylor: The company wasn’t “responsible for his day-to-day affairs and did not oversee his individual tax responsibilities. Nor did the Company conspire with Mr. Saylor in the discharge of his personal tax responsibilities. The District of Columbia’s claims against the Company are false and we will defend aggressively against this overreach.”