Michael Saylor, Founder and Executive Chairman of MicroStrategy and avid bitcoin supporter, and his company have settled with the District of Columbia for $40 million on what is being called the biggest-ever tax fraud recovery in the district. The District of Columbia brought the suit in 2022 – the first-ever lawsuit filed under the False Claims Act, which accused Saylor of evading taxes while he resided in the district.
DC officials claimed he evaded paying taxes for the 10-year period he resided there, amounting to $25 million, and that MicroStrategy helped him steer clear of the taxes. Saylor had to step down as CEO of the tech company when he was sued close to two years ago and was looking at a penalty of up to $75 million.
He has maintained that he never resided in DC. “Florida remains my home today, and I continue to dispute the allegation that I was ever a resident of the District of Columbia,” he told the New York Times. He added, “I have agreed to settle this matter to avoid the continued burdens of the litigation on friends, family, and myself,” about the $40 million settlement.
Saylor is an avid bitcoin supporter and has supported the asset class’s adoption for a few years now. He has followed up his liking for the first-ever crypto by strategically aiding his company’s growth by accumulating it massively. MicroStrategy currently holds close to 1% of all the bitcoin in circulation, represented by the 214,000 bitcoins in its possession.
The turn toward gathering bitcoin started in 2020, around 31 years after the company was founded in 1989. Saylor vacated the position as its CEO close to 2 years after he announced his support for the asset and began buying it in massive quantities through the company. Of course, that occurred because of the tax suit filed against him in DC. His stepping down as CEO led to him assuming the Executive Chairman of MicroStrategy, a company he has driven to become pro-bitcoin.
Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay
