Bitcoin Evangelist Michael Saylor Sued for Tax Fraud by D.C. Attorney General

Karl Racine, the attorney general of Washington D.C., has announced that he is suing former MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor for not paying taxes. 

Racine says that the Bitcoin evangelist has never paid any D.C. income taxes, accusing the latter of committing fraud. 

The D.C. attorney general adds that he is also suing MicroStrategy for allegedly conspiring to help him facilitate his tax avoidance schemes. The business intelligence firm allegedly reported false information on federal tax forms.   

In its complaint, the Attorney General’s office alleges that Saylor “fraudulently
purported” to be a resident of either Florida or Virginia in order to take advantage of substantially lower tax rates.  However, his Facebook posts, which are included in the complaint, prove that he maintained his domicile in Washington, D.C. 

The billionaire allegedly bragged to his confidants about masquerading as a Florida resident in order to avoid paying taxes in the District of Columbia. He registered to vote in Florida and obtained a driver’s license there despite not abandoning the district as his domicile.    

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Racine claims that Saylor owes “hundreds of millions of dollars.”   

As reported by U.Today, Saylor stepped down as CEO of MicroStrategy earlier this month. 

In late 2000, Saylor and other MicroStrategy executives agreed to pay $11 million to settle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The accused fraudster didn’t admit or deny the SEC’s charges.  

MicroStrategy, which is the top holder of Bitcoin among publicly listed companies, has been hit hard by the Bitcoin sell-off. The company posted a $1 billion loss in the second quarter of 2022. 

The MicroStrategy stock is down 4.4% on the news.