Billionaire bitcoin bull and MicroStrategy co-founder Michael Saylor will pay $40 million to settle a lawsuit alleging he lied to authorities about his residency for years and committed massive tax evasion, the Washington, D.C. District Attorney's Office announced on Monday.
Washington, D.C., prosecutors allege that between 2005 and 2022, MicroStrategy helped Saylor evade more than $25 million in local income taxes through false records and false tax returns.
The tech executive allegedly claimed to live in Florida or Virginia, despite actually living in a luxury waterfront penthouse in the nation's capital's upscale Georgetown neighborhood.
Prosecutors also alleged that he “maintained multiple sailboats moored along the Potomac River in the District.”
In the settlement, neither Saylor nor MicroStrategy admitted to any wrongdoing or violation of law, the company said in a filing.
MicroStrategy shares rose 8% to about $1,625 a share at the start of trading on Monday.
Saylor, who retired as MicroStrategy's CEO in 2022, said the company “will pay the settlement in full to the District, and the company is not obligated to contribute anything to the settlement.”
The Post has reached out to MicroStrategy for further comment.
“Florida remains my home and I will continue to contest the claim that I was once a resident of the District of Columbia,” Saylor said in a statement to The New York Times, which first reported the settlement. “I have agreed to settle this matter to avoid the continuing burden of litigation on my friends, family and myself.”
The D.C. District Attorney's Office alleged that Saylor spent millions of dollars between 2006 and 2008 to purchase three luxury condominiums with the intent of combining them into a 7,000-square-foot home overlooking the Potomac River.
The billionaire is said to have continued to live in the area aboard his yacht while work continues on renovating the residence, which will be called “Trigate”.
Saylor's own social media posts were cited in the amended complaint detailing the alleged tax evasion scheme.
In March 2012, Saylor posted a photo to Facebook with the caption, “View from my balcony in Georgetown this morning.”
A few months later, in September 2012, Saylor posted, “Gazing wistfully at our future home while waiting for James to whip out the contractors and herd the cats. I wonder if Tony Stark is that patient…”
The name “James” comes from the penthouse's architect, James Augustus Seymour Van Wynen.
“Now I need to finish renovating my apartment so it's livable again. In the meantime I think I'll put up a tent outside on my terrace,” Saylor wrote at the time.
Saylor's personal wealth has risen in recent months as the price of Bitcoin has risen sharply.
Saylor's net worth was estimated at $4.8 billion as of Monday, according to Forbes magazine.
“In the District of Columbia, no one, no matter how wealthy or powerful, is above the law,” D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb said in a statement on X.
Schwalb called the settlement “the largest income tax fraud recovery in D.C. history.”
