Article Text

The U.S. Treasury Department has canceled all 31 of its contracts with Tysons-based Booz Allen Hamilton, accusing the consulting firm of failing to adequately safeguard confidential taxpayer information.

The contracts accounted for $4.8 million in annual spending and $21 million in total obligations.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said ending the agreements was intended to combat waste, fraud and abuse while rebuilding public trust in government. He alleged that Booz Allen had not put sufficient protections in place for sensitive data accessed through its Internal Revenue Service work.

The decision follows the criminal case against former Booz Allen employee Charles Edward Littlejohn, who worked on an IRS contract. Between 2018 and 2020, Littlejohn stole and disclosed confidential tax records, including President Donald Trump’s tax information in 2019.

The exposed information was provided to news organizations. The IRS determined that the breach affected approximately 406,000 taxpayers.

Littlejohn pleaded guilty to a felony charge of disclosing confidential tax information without authorization. He was sentenced in 2024 to five years in federal prison.

Booz Allen said it has repeatedly condemned Littlejohn’s conduct and maintains “zero tolerance for violations of the law.” The company stressed that the breach occurred more than five years ago on government systems rather than its own network.

The firm also said it does not store taxpayer information on its systems and could not monitor activity occurring on government networks. It said it fully assisted the federal investigation that led to Littlejohn’s prosecution and plans to discuss the contract cancellations with Treasury.

Booz Allen has maintained its headquarters at 8283 Greensboro Drive in Tysons since 1997. The company announced in November that it plans to move its headquarters to Reston Row, near the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station, in fall 2027. Its Tysons office is scheduled to be decommissioned in 2028.