Trump’s IRS boss spied on colleagues’ emails when he worked at JPMorgan: report

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Trump’s IRS chief Frank Bisignano allegedly abused his authority while working at JPMorgan Chase and spied on colleagues’ emails, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

Bisignano, who was co-chief operating officer of JPMorgan from 2012 until 2013, allegedly directed his security staff to snoop into the emails of fellow executives and access internal communications without an apparent business justification.

Bisignano denied the allegations in an interview with CNBC Tuesday, calling the Journal report “really bad journalism for political reasons.”

“None of it’s true, ever in my whole career,” said Bisignano, who is also commissioner of the Social Security Administration.

The Independent has asked an attorney for Bisignano, JPMorgan Chase, the Treasury Department and the Journal’s parent company, Dow Jones, for comment.

As leader of the IRS and Social Security Administration, Bisignano has access to sensitive financial information on U.S. taxpayers (Getty)

Bisignano would allegedly spy on other executives, including Charlie Scharf – then head of consumer banking at JPMorgan and the current CEO of Wells Fargo – to keep a tight rein on employees and use information to undermine rivals, sources told the Journal.

One executive told the newspaper that when he suspected Bisignano of spying, he put a code phrase into an email, which Bisignano allegedly repeated back to him.

There are no allegations that Bisignano improperly accessed customer information.

Courtney Forrest, a lawyer for Bisignano, denied the allegations to the Journal and said he “never directed anyone to look through any employee’s or executive’s communications or engaged in any form of surveillance.”

“The claim that Mr. Bisignano’s growing responsibilities at JPMorgan were accompanied by a pattern of undermining colleagues is patently untrue and inaccurate,” Forrest said in a statement.

Forrest also denied that an executive “planted a code word” to catch Bisignano reading an email.

Trump initially tapped Bisignano to serve as the commissioner of the Social Security Administration in December 2024 – Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent later tapped Bisignano to also serve as chief of the IRS (AFP/Getty)

On Tuesday, Bisignano also highlighted his “impeccable” record, such as helping JPMorgan reach a $25 billion mortgage loan and foreclosure abuse case settlement with the government.

The IRS chief went on to say he spoke with Scharf by phone Monday evening and the two “had a good laugh” about the article.

Forrest also emphasized that Bisignano had kept “a strong personal and professional relationship” with Scharf for years.

Bisignano worked at JPMorgan from 2005 through 2013, gaining a reputation as a fixer as he helped steer the bank through the 2008 financial crisis. He later took over the bank’s mortgage unit as it was facing legal issues.

After briefly serving as a co-COO, Bisignano left JPMorgan to become the CEO of First Data Corporation. At the time of Bisignano’s departure, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said: “He is a proven business executive, who has performed exceptionally well since coming into his corporate role in May of last year.”

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, allegedly encouraged Frank Bisignano to take a new job after employees complained about his behavior. A lawyer for Bisignano denied the allegation (AP)

But the Journal claims that Dimon had encouraged Bisignano to leave, following years of complaints about his behavior, by saying he would support the executive finding a job elsewhere.

Forrest said Dimon “never asked, encouraged or suggested that Mr. Bisignano leave JPMorgan” and that Bisignano left voluntarily.

A spokesperson for JPMorgan told the Journal that Bisignano is distinguished for his grit and determination and that they “applaud his service to our country both at the Social Security Administration and the IRS.”

This is not the first time Bisignano has been accused of being involved in spying at JPMorgan. A 2018 Business Insider article accused Bisignano of being the “executive sponsor” of a project in which a security expert was hired to use Palantir technology to spy on employees. The JPMorgan team was allegedly using the technology to look for disgruntled employees or potential abuses of corporate assets, Bloomberg also reported in 2018.