Howard Stern Sued for Broadcasting Woman’s Conversation With IRS

On Monday, Stern was sued by a woman named Judith Barrigas, whose tax information was disseminated in the oddest way. According to her complaint filed in Massachusetts federal court, she called the IRS’s service center on May 19, 2015, to discuss how the tax agency had applied prior year liabilities to her tax refund. She got connected to Jimmy Forsythe, an IRS agent. Before the two connected, Forsythe had called into the Howard Stern Show using another phone line. While on hold, Forsythe took Barrigas’ call and proceeded to spend 45 minutes with her discussing her tax case. Apparently, during this conversation, someone at Stern’s show heard what was happening and decided to air the discussion live on satellite radio.