Hedge Fund Billionaire Ken Griffin And IRS Settle Lawsuit Over Tax Returns Leaked To ProPublica

Bloomberg, Ken Griffin’s Data Leak Suit Against IRS Ends In Settlement:

The Internal Revenue Service agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by hedge fund manager Ken Griffin that accused the agency of failing to protect his confidential financial information from a contractor who stole his tax data and leaked it to ProPublica. ...

Griffin sued over a data breach that resulted in ProPublica’s revealing private data on some of the wealthiest US taxpayers. A former IRS contractor, Charles Littlejohn, pleaded guilty to stealing and leaking the tax returns of Griffin, former President Donald Trump, Elon Musk and other billionaires. He was sentenced on Jan. 29 to five years in prison.

Prior TaxProf Blog coverage:

• Citadel’s Ken Griffin Sues IRS Over Leak Of Tax Return Info To ProPublica (Dec. 15, 2022)
• Hedge Fund Billionaire Ken Griffin Subpoenas ProPublica Over Unlawful Disclosure Of His Tax Returns (Sept. 19, 2023)
• IRS Consultant Charged With Disclosing Tax Return Information To New York Times (Trump) And ProPublica (Thousands Of Wealthy Americans) (Sept. 30, 2024)
• DOJ Offers Sweetheart Plea Deal To IRS Consultant Who Leaked Tax Return Information Of Trump And Thousands Of Wealthy Americans (Oct. 24, 2023)
• Former Contractor Who Leaked Trump’s Tax Returns Sentenced To 5 Years In Prison (Jan. 31, 2024)
• Littlejohn’s Unjust Tax Sentence (June 11, 2024)