In what has been reported as “the largest known data theft in the history of the IRS,” ProPublica announced in 2021 that it obtained a trove of “Secret IRS Files” that included confidential tax information from America’s wealthiest taxpayers—including Jeff Bezos, Michael Bloomberg, Taylor Swift, as well as QE client Ken Griffin, the founder and CEO of Citadel.
For years, the IRS took no responsibility nor public actions to address its failure to safeguard taxpayer information. Yesterday, however, as a result of a lawsuit QE filed on behalf of Ken Griffin, the IRS issued an unprecedented apology to Mr. Griffin and to the thousands of other US taxpayers whose confidential information was illegally made public, in which the IRS assured the public it will strengthen its data security measures and take steps to safeguard taxpayer information. This lawsuit was not filed for money, but on the principle that the IRS must accept responsibility for its failures and take steps to enhance their data security measures, and we are proud to have helped our client obtain this outcome.
Congratulations to this stellar team: William Burck, AJ Merton, Peter Fountain, Derek Shaffer, Jason Sternberg, John Bash, Jenny Braun, Kaylee Otterbacher, Jesse Hevia, Larry Brett (former QE associate) and Olga Garcia.