MicroStrategy, Michael Saylor settle with DC AG for $40M in income tax fraud case

DC AG Brian Schwalb said the case is the “largest income tax fraud recovery” in DC history

article-image

DCStockPhotography/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

Michael Saylor and MicroStrategy will pay $40 million to resolve a tax fraud case with the Washington DC Attorney General’s office. 

AG Brian Schwalb posted about the resolution in a series of X posts. 

The case marks the “largest income tax fraud recovery” in DC history, Schwalb said. 

Loading Tweet..

“Saylor illegally pretended to live in lower-tax jurisdictions to avoid paying taxes on hundreds of millions of dollars of income — all while living in a 7,000 square foot Georgetown penthouse and docking multiple yachts at Washington Harbour,” Schwalb added. 

According to court documents, MicroStrategy and Saylor will pay a total of $40 million to resolve the case. 

Read more: Bitcoin bull Michael Saylor loses bid to dismiss tax evasion lawsuit

The case, filed with a DC court last year, alleged that Saylor evaded over $25 million in DC income taxes between 2005 and 2021. Saylor, the government said, posed as a resident in states like Florida and Virginia, which have lower taxes. 

MicroStrategy was also named in the suit, with the DC AG alleging that the company helped to cover up his DC residency. 

“The false records and statements MicroStrategy submitted to the District Office of Tax and Revenue, which Defendant Saylor caused the company to submit, deprived the District of tens of millions of dollars in income tax revenue,” the filing said.

Saylor, a big bitcoin bull, is worth over $4.6 billion according to Forbes. MicroStrategy owns 1% of all bitcoin, worth a total of $14 billion. 

He embarked on a — previously disclosed — share sale spree earlier this year, unloading 315,000 shares of MSTR, though the executive chairman and co-founder still holds a sizable position in his company. 

MicroStrategy didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Research Report Templates (19).png

Research

Suilend has grown into the top money market and liquid staking provider on Sui. STEAMM, Suilend’s Superfluid AMM, presents a compelling avenue for growing market share within Sui’s DEX landscape and revenue generation for the protocol. Suilend’s multi-product suite position it well for owning market share across key verticals. While current metrics across the Sui ecosystem are likely inflated due to Sui Foundation incentive programs, SEND trades at amongst the lowest multiples in the lend/borrow sector, suggesting that a bull case for continued growth in the ecosystem may be mispriced.

article-image

To date, 12.6 million humans have scanned at a World Orb

article-image

One small step for man, one giant leap for Bitcoin

article-image

Jay Woods, Chief Global Strategist at Freedom Capital Markets, said it would be “very rare” for an acquisition to happen since the IPO may occur as soon as next week

article-image

Sponsored

Money is one of the most consequential pieces of infrastructure, and M0 believes its architecture should serve builders, not extract from them

article-image

The financial backwaters they laughed at might be the only thing keeping the dollar afloat

article-image

The blockchain’s perpetual futures exchange is highly popular