According to the lawsuit, filed in the Civil Division of the Superior Court of Justice in Washington, D.C., Thaler knowingly avoided taxes he owed since 2005, fraudulently claiming to be a resident of other low-tax jurisdictions such as Virginia and Florida. Saylor allegedly lived in a luxury penthouse on the Georgetown waterfront in Washington, D.C., and moored several yachts along the area’s Potomac River.
Washington, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine announced the lawsuit on Twitter on Wednesday.
“I respect Washington, D.C.’s position and look forward to a fair resolution in court,” Thaler said in a statement. He said he moved from Virginia to Miami Beach a decade ago, where he had previously bought a historic building. old house.
“While MicroStrategy is based in Virginia, Florida is where I live, vote and report on jury duty, and it’s the center of my personal and family life,” Thaler said.
MicroStrategy, based in Tysons Corner, Virginia, was also indicted by the Washington, D.C. government for conspiring to help Thaler evade taxes. Thaler was MicroStrategy’s CEO until earlier this month.
The lawsuit alleges that MicroStrategy knew Thaler had lived in Washington for more than half a year, which would make him a legal resident under the laws of the area. Still, the company used his Florida address to fill out inaccurate tax forms and failed to withhold and remit taxes in Washington, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit stemmed from a whistleblower who filed a sealed complaint under Washington’s False Claims Act in April 2021.
“Seller’s public flaunting of his billionaire lifestyle while bragging to friends and colleagues about how he evaded district taxes shows his disdain for the rules others must follow,” the whistleblower’s indictment said.
Shares of MicroStrategy fell 3.6% on Wednesday to close at $231.56. The stock is down about 57% so far this year, similar to Bitcoin’s decline.