Bitcoin
Bitcoin Billionaire Michael Saylor Settles DC Tax Fraud Case for $40 Million
Saylor’s real home, the suit alleges, was a luxurious Washington penthouse apartment overlooking the Georgetown waterfront, where he kept his yachts on the Potomac River.
Saylor founded Virginia-based MicroStrategy in 1989 as a software consultancy and data analytics pioneer, taking the company public in 1998 on the Nasdaq. He served as CEO of MicroStrategy until 2022, when he assumed the role of executive chairman.
In 2020, Saylor moved the company into the crypto market and has since accumulated billions of dollars in crypto.
Saylor’s net worth as of June 3 was approximately $4.6 billion, according to Forbes. He also held 2.4 million shares of MicroStrategy, or a 13% stake in the company, as of February.
MicroStrategy shares closed at $1,524.49 per share on Friday.
The D.C. attorney general accused Saylor and MicroStrategy of tax evasion, alleging the company helped its founder disguise his D.C. residency so he could avoid paying higher income taxes.
MicroStrategy also allegedly failed to pay required corporate taxes for a company that employed D.C. residents, of which Saylor was just one of several.
The original lawsuit against Saylor was brought in 2022 by former DC Attorney General Karl Racine. It was sparked by a 2021 whistleblower lawsuit that alleged Saylor had cheated on his taxes and bragged about it to his friends.
That process alerted the attorney general’s office, which later conducted its own investigation and filed civil charges.
The case against Saylor was the first brought under an updated version of the False Claims Act in the District of Columbia. The update expanded the attorney general’s tax enforcement powers and encouraged whistleblowers to come forward, offering rewards of up to 25% of the district’s earnings in successful cases.
According to the attorney general’s account, Saylor had lived in the same luxury apartment building overlooking the Georgetown waterfront since at least 2005.
From 2006 to 2008, Saylor purchased three luxury condos in DC that he later renovated into a single complex he called “Trigate.” During renovations from 2011 to 2015, Saylor reportedly stayed between his yachts, his penthouse and another apartment in Washington’s Adams Morgan neighborhood.
The civil suit cited several Facebook posts on Saylor’s account dating back to the time of the home’s renovations.
“Staring wistfully at my future home as I wait for James to crack the whip at the contractors and herd the cats,” Saylor wrote in a 2012 post. “I wonder if Tony Stark would be so patient…”