A $40 million tax fraud recovery settlement has been announced by Washington, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb with billionaire tech executive and investor Michael Saylor and his company, MicroStrategy. This settlement is said to be the largest income tax fraud recovery in DC history.
In a press release on June 3, Schwalb stated, “Michael Saylor will pay $40 million to the District in the largest income tax fraud recovery in DC history. Saylor not only broke the law, he openly bragged about his tax evasion scheme and encouraged others to follow his example.”
Despite the settlement, Saylor and MicroStrategy have denied any wrongdoing and have stated that the agreement was made to avoid further legal complications and reduce litigation burdens.
Saylor, who is a vocal proponent of Bitcoin, and MicroStrategy hold more than 200,000 BTC, valued at around $14 billion.
The settlement stems from allegations that Saylor evaded over $25 million in income taxes while living in Washington, D.C. The attorney general’s office accused Saylor of collaborating with MicroStrategy to submit fraudulent tax documents between 2005 and 2021, falsely reporting that he was residing in states with lower income tax rates.
The settlement has had no negative impact on the shares of MicroStrategy. Yahoo Finance data shows that MSTR’s shares were up by around 7% on the day of the announcement and were trading at $1,615 as of press time. The company’s stock has risen by 133% year-to-date and was recently added to the MSCI World Index. BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management firm, acquired 4,020 shares of MSTR, valued at approximately $6.1 million.
Despite the settlement, Saylor and MicroStrategy maintain their innocence and have not admitted to any guilt in the tax fraud case.
