An Internal Revenue Service contractor stole individual and business tax files from 50,000 to 70,000 Americans, making it the largest known theft of private taxpayer information in U.S. history.
On May 27, Ira Stoll, a victim of IRS thief Charles Littlejohn, wrote a column in The Wall Street Journal explaining how she was alerted by the U.S. Treasury Department to tell her that her company's tax return was among many that were leaked by Littlejohn. Littlejohn “stole tax returns and return information” and disclosed them to news organizations.
In the alert, the government understated the amount of victims harmed by the theft.
“I spoke by phone with two federal prosecutors, Jonathan Jacobson and Jennifer Clarke,” Stoll wrote. “Mr. Jacobson told me that ‘over 50,000’ and perhaps as many as 70,000 taxpayers have been affected by the disclosure…Those numbers surprised me. The Justice Department’s sentencing memorandum in the case cites ‘thousands’ of victims, so many that it ‘makes it impracticable’ to provide everyone the rights guaranteed by law.”
Each account of taxpayer theft amounts to a felony charge; however, Littlejohn has only been charged with one count, a decision that the government has yet to explain, reported Americans for Tax Reform. Littlejohn has been sentenced with five years in prison, a sentence he is trying to appeal.
Littlejohn was an IRS contractor via Booz Allen. He admitted he “sought” out a job where he could have access to IRS systems and had “full intention” of stealing private files, according to Americans for Tax Reform.
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The tax files stolen were given to ProPublica, a progressive organization fashioning itself as a “government watchdog.” ProPublica claims they use “the moral force of investigative journalism” to create “reform” through highlighting “wrongdoing.” Now that they have access to stolen tax files, at least 50,000 Americans have no idea when their private information will be published.
Americans for Tax Reform noted that ProPublica published the first of its reports of private files at the “same moment” congressional Democrats and President Joe Biden launched a major tax increase effort. When looking through the private tax files, ProPublica found that Americans do pay the tax rate. By digging deep into American’s files, the “moral” organization found something they call a “True Tax Rate,” based on “unrealized gains.” Coincidently, President Biden and congressional Democrats are trying to place a tax on “unrealized gains.”
ProPublica justified their actions by pointing out the “lavish” lifestyles of the victims; however, they have not been interested in the theft itself.
According to Americans for Tax Reform, Biden's Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, and IRS brass have been trying to “downplay” the chance the stolen tax files originated from the IRS for the past two years.
In June of last year, the IRS signed a $2.6 billion contract with Booz Allen for “database and IT services.”
In addition to not knowing when their private information will be published, victims have no way of claiming justice for the invasion of their privacy. For example, Littlejohn was “not formally charged” with stealing Donald Trump's tax returns because his particular theft had already reached its “statute of limitations.”
Some other well-known victims of Littlejohn include Lebron James, Calvin Klein, Justin Verlander, and Tiger Woods. “Tens of thousands” of his victims are not high profile, and it is expected that they will receive a notification from the U.S. Treasury that their private information has been stolen.
It is still unclear if the government will make any changes to Littlejohn’s charges and if victims will receive any form of justice.
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