In an unprecedented turn of events, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued a public apology to billionaire investor Ken Griffin. The reason? Leaked tax records that exposed sensitive financial information, including Griffin’s personal wealth and tax liabilities.
The Internal Revenue Service issued a rare apology for the “thousands” of tax data disclosed to the public between 2018 and 2020.
Griffin issued the apology as part of a deal with the IRS after filing a lawsuit in December 2022 over the “unlawful disclosure” of his tax information, which was disclosed to the public by a contractor.
The Breach and Its Origins
The story began with a former IRS contractor named Charles Littlejohn. Littlejohn, who had access to confidential tax returns, allegedly leaked information about several high-profile taxpayers, including Griffin.
The recipient of this unauthorized disclosure was the nonprofit news organization ProPublica. The leaked data revealed intricate details about the financial lives of some of the wealthiest Americans.