- Jason Levien is CEO of DC United and owns component of Swansea City and the Brisbane Bullets.
- DC United’s former basic counsel made a whistleblower grievance in opposition to him in New York.
- The point out declined to intervene. Levien denied wrongdoing and reported he submitted New York taxes.
Jason Levien, a co-operator of Washington DC’s $700 million Important League Soccer workforce and an investor in professional sporting activities teams in the United kingdom and Australia, has been accused by his company’s former top attorney of cheating on his taxes.
Levien lied to New York officials by claiming to live in Florida for a long time to stay clear of $2.5 million to $5.2 million in town and condition taxes, in accordance to a recently unsealed grievance acquired by Insider. The lawsuit was introduced by Christopher Deubert, who right until past 12 months was the top rated lawyer for Levien’s DC United soccer club.
The scenario, introduced beneath New York’s Bogus Claims Act, was submitted past calendar year less than seal. It was not too long ago unsealed immediately after the state attorney common declined to intervene in the case. A whistleblower can keep pursuing a case even if the point out passes on it, nonetheless, and is entitled to a share of no matter what is recovered.
“Levien, born and bred in Manhattan, has maintained his principal home in Manhattan for practically all of his lifetime, until recently going to Washington, DC whole-time,” the criticism says. It states he created “an approximated $2 million to $4 million” a yr.
The complaint also indicates that Deubert has submitted a equivalent whistleblower scenario in Washington, DC. If a complaint was filed there, it did not demonstrate up in a community databases, and a spokesman for the DC Legal professional General’s business declined to comment.
In a assertion shared with Insider, Jon Bouker, a lawyer for Levien, claimed his consumer compensated all the taxes he owed and filed taxes in New York, contrary to Deubert’s claims. He mentioned the law company ArentFoxSchiff employed PwC to evaluate Levien’s tax returns and “concluded that Mr. Levien does not owe taxes in New York, or in any jurisdiction, returns have been submitted on Mr. Levien’s behalf for tax overpayments, and Mr. Levien has effectively submitted tax returns in New York for the duration of several years at issue.”
“Irrespective of whether [Deubert’s] accusations ended up an straightforward oversight or a little something additional malicious is anything we will refrain from commenting on till we have additional information and facts,” Bouker reported. “Regardless, it is unfortunate.”
A individual close to Levien explained to Insider that Levien is presently a DC resident for tax applications and that he has properly paid out taxes in the numerous states he has lived in for the past two decades.
Deubert alleges that there is “substantial evidence,” like public information and media interviews, that demonstrates Levien has never lived in Florida, and statements that Levien and his accountant told Deubert that “Levien takes advantage of his parents’ home,” a Boca Raton apartment, “for tax reasons.”
Levien, a former NBA agent who received into management roles in the late 2000s, has been expanding his athletics portfolio about the earlier ten years. In 2016, he acquired into Swansea City, a Welsh club which was relegated from the Premier League in 2018 and at this time performs in the 2nd-tier Championship.
in 2021, the BBC reported he was the team’s majority proprietor and claimed to have invested “tens of hundreds of thousands” into the staff even as it experienced haemorrhaged income throughout the pandemic.
He also hasn’t left basketball powering. In 2019, he and previous NBA taking pictures guard Kevin Martin led a consortium that bought a 75% stake of the Brisbane Bullets, component of Australia’s Nationwide Basketball League.
When he acquired into DC United in 2012, Forbes documented that the group was valued at $50 million. That worth has been soared: Sportico claimed in September that DC United is truly worth $700 million, making it the sixth most useful MLS workforce.
Levien and Indonesian businessman Erick Thohir jointly owned 60% of the workforce when they to start with bought a stake, in accordance to Forbes. Thohir was acquired out in 2018.
Levien also has investments outside of sporting activities. His company Neksepo Ventures shown holdings including Masterclass and Immortals Gaming Club, an esports enterprise. You 2019 tales in the Washington Company Journal about him marketing a condo he used as a visitor house for clients and good friends for $2.85 million mentioned he has other qualities in the District.
Deubert declined to comment, as did his law firm, Adam Pollock.
December 14, 2022: This tale has been updated to involve remarks from Levien’s attorney and a particular person shut to Levien.
