IRS whistleblower agent sues agency over leaked tax records in Chicago

If you thought your tax files were locked up tighter than Fort Knox, think again. A veteran Internal Revenue Service investigator is suing his own bosses for allegedly leaking his private tax files to derail his career. Brian Visalli, a 24-year veteran of IRS Criminal Investigation in Chicago with 22 performance awards, filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against the IRS and the Treasury Department. Visalli spent a decade reporting that managers at the Chicago Field Office refused to investigate promoters of abusive tax schemes for wealthy individuals and corporations. His internal whistleblowing led to two audits by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. The new lawsuit claims IRS officials illegally handed his confidential personnel, disciplinary, and tax return data to the Department of Justice Tax Division. In October 2024, Visalli learned from an Assistant U.S. Attorney that Justice Department personnel were calling him legally impaired and claiming a pending action existed against him. Such a designation means a law enforcement witness has a credibility problem that must be shared with criminal defense lawyers. The complaint states no such determination existed and no disciplinary action had even been proposed at that time. An internal employee tax compliance inquiry into Visalli's 2021 joint tax return had reviewed the matter, but information only reached prosecutors through unauthorized leaks. An agency fact-finding memorandum later concluded his conduct was not willful, yet just 33 days later the same official proposed firing him for lack of candor. "Special Agent Visalli has spent 24 years enforcing the nation's tax laws, including the laws that protect the privacy of every taxpayer's information," said his attorney, Seth Matus of Workplace Law Partners, P.C. The lawsuit seeks actual, statutory, and punitive damages, plus legal fees and costs for medical expenses and lost performance awards. Even the taxman apparently needs a good privacy lawyer sometimes. Visalli's attorneys state he remains committed to his service to American taxpayers.