(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The Treasury Department canceled $21 million in contracts with consulting giant Booz Allen Hamilton after one of its employees leaked the tax returns of more than 400,000 individuals, including those of President Donald Trump.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the cancellations of the agency’s 31 contracts with the firm on Monday, citing Booz Allen’s failure to implement “adequate safeguards to protect sensitive data.”
Bessent said, “President Trump has entrusted his cabinet to root out waste, fraud, and abuse, and canceling these contracts is an essential step to increasing Americans’ trust in government.”
The Treasury specifically pointed to Charles Edward Littlejohn, a former Booz Allen employee who pleaded guilty in 2023 to illegally leaking tax returns to the legacy media.
Littlejohn was sentenced to five years in prison for his offenses, which a federal judge called “the biggest heist in IRS history.”
Prosecutors said in 2023 that Littlejohn used his position as a government contractor to steal tax returns associated with President Donald Trump and those of more than 400,000 Americans.
Prosecutors said Littlejohn used “broad search parameters designed to conceal the true purpose of his queries,” and then uploaded the obtained information to a private website to avoid being caught by the IRS.
He leaked tax returns between August and October 2019 to media outlets later identified as The New York Times and ProPublica.
Booz Allen Hamilton defended itself in a statement to CNN following the contract cancellations.
“Booz Allen fully supported the U.S. government in its investigation, and the government expressed gratitude for our assistance, which led to Littlejohn’s prosecution,” the spokesperson said. “We look forward to discussing this matter with Treasury.”
