The Treasury Department is canceling millions of dollars worth of contracts with the Booz Allen Hamilton consulting firm, after a contractor from the firm leaked confidential IRS information, showing how wealthy Americans manage to pay little or nothing in taxes.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent canceled a total of 31 contracts with Booz Allen, totaling $21 million. The company's stock fell more than 8%.
"Canceling these contracts is an essential step to increasing Americans' trust in government," Bessent said in a statement. "Booz Allen failed to implement adequate safeguards to protect sensitive data, including the confidential taxpayer information it had access to through its contracts with the Internal Revenue Service.
That information was the basis of explosive stories in the New York Times and ProPublica, showing how wealthy people like Donald Trump, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos manage to minimize their tax obligations.
A Booz Allen contractor, Charles Edward Littlejohn, pleaded guilty in 2023 to leaking the confidential data to reporters. He was sentenced to five years in prison.
Booz Allen said it was surprised by the Treasury Department's decision to cancel its contracts.
"Booz Allen has zero tolerance for violations of the law and operates under the highest ethical and professional guidelines," the company said in a statement. "When Littlejohn's criminal conduct occurred more than five years ago, it was on government systems, not Booz Allen systems. Booz Allen stores no taxpayer data on its systems and has no ability to monitor activity on government networks."
The company also said it assisted the government in its investigation of Littlejohn, which aided in his prosecution.
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