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Wealthy Taxpayers Alerted to Leaked Data Years After IRS Breach

In Data Breach News
April 29, 2024
Wealthy Taxpayers Alerted to Leaked Data Years After IRS Breach

There is an update to the IRS data breach by contractor Charles Littlejohn, who leaked returns from former President Trump, Elon Musk, and other billionaires. Bloomberg Law reports:

Some taxpayers are learning that their data was leaked in the widespread breach by a former IRS contractor that led to the release of former President Donald Trump’s tax returns.

Four tax lawyers said they have seen letters from the IRS that went to clients this week and last week notifying them that their tax return information was compromised by Charles Littlejohn, who was sentenced in January to five years in prison for the breach. Bloomberg Tax received a copy of the letter, dated April 12.

It’s unclear who exactly, beyond Trump and other billionaires referenced in news articles that first reported the leaked returns, was affected by the breach until now. Littlejohn admitted to taking tax information from thousands of wealthy Americans between 2018 and 2020. The breach was the largest at the IRS in recent history. The notification letters could precede a flood of lawsuits against the government from wealthy taxpayers who didn’t initially realize their information was part of the leak.

Read more at Bloomberg Law.