The IRS thief who committed the largest theft in IRS history stole and transmitted the private, personal tax files of 7,600 Americans and 600 entities. Victims include Oprah Winfrey, Floyd Mayweather, Taylor Swift, Michael Jordan, George Clooney, J.B. Pritzker, Michael Bloomberg, Lorne Michaels and thousands of others.
For months, it was only known that “thousands” of individuals had their information stolen. Only recently was the specific number revealed in court documents. The 7,600 and 600 figures have been reported by the Washington Post, Courthouse News Service, and other outlets.
Despite committing 8,200 felonies, the thief was only charged with a single count of unauthorized disclosure of tax information.
In court, even the Biden-appointed judge Ana Reyes said: “The fact that he is facing one felony count, I have no words for.”
The thief was sentenced to five years in prison. For perspective, this is just five hours and 20 minutes per felony.
Each of the 7,600 individuals is a victim, and as pointed out by the Biden appointed judge, the violation of their privacy is ongoing.
As reported by Law360 today, the thief is appealing the sentence.
On Feb. 8 House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan sent a letter to DOJ.
Excerpt from Jordan letter:
“The Committee is conducting oversight of the Department of Justice’s enforcement of federal law. Recently, the Department allowed a defendant, Charles Littlejohn, to plead guilty to only one count of unauthorized disclosure of tax information even though he admitted to leaking ‘thousands of individuals’ and entities’ tax returns’ to ProPublica and the New York Times. The Department’s decision to pursue just one charge for ‘thousands’ of separate criminal acts is highly concerning, and we worry that the Department’s decision may be politically motivated.”
IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel will testify to the House Ways and Means Committee on Thursday Feb. 15 at 10:00 a.m. He will likely face questions on the agency’s continued neglect of taxpayer privacy.