Roger Ver, an early bitcoin investor and prominent figure in the cryptocurrency community, has been indicted for tax fraud and arrested in Spain, according to a statement released by the U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday.
Ver, sometimes referred to as “Bitcoin Jesus” for his early advocacy of the digital currency, is accused of failing to report and pay taxes on $240 million gained from selling tens of thousands of bitcoins in November 2017.
TLDR
- Roger Ver, an early bitcoin investor known as “Bitcoin Jesus,” has been indicted for tax fraud and arrested in Spain.
- Ver allegedly failed to report and pay taxes on $240 million gained from selling tens of thousands of bitcoins in November 2017.
- He is accused of concealing bitcoin ownership from the IRS and causing a purported loss of $48 million in taxes.
- Ver renounced his U.S. citizenship in 2014 and became a citizen of St. Kitts and Nevis, but was still required to report and pay taxes on distributions from his U.S.-based companies.
- The early Bitcoin booster has been a vocal proponent of libertarian values and has previously served time for selling explosives on eBay.
The DOJ alleges that Ver, who renounced his U.S. citizenship in 2014 and became a citizen of St. Kitts and Nevis, concealed his bitcoin ownership from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and caused a purported loss of $48 million in taxes.
Despite no longer being a U.S. citizen, Ver was still legally required to report and pay taxes on distributions from his U.S.-based companies, MemoryDealers.com and AgileStar.com.
According to the indictment, Ver’s companies owned approximately 70,000 bitcoins by June 2017. Around that time, Ver allegedly took possession of those bitcoins and sold tens of thousands of them on cryptocurrency exchanges in November 2017, at the height of the bitcoin bull run, for approximately $240 million in cash.
However, Ver allegedly concealed these transactions from his accountant, resulting in his 2017 individual income tax return failing to report any gain or pay any tax related to the distribution of the companies’ bitcoins.
Ver, a vocal proponent of libertarian values, has been a controversial figure in the cryptocurrency space. He has previously served time for selling explosives on eBay and has been a strong advocate for bitcoin cash (BCH), a fork of the original bitcoin designed to be more usable for peer-to-peer payments.
In recent years, Ver has been critical of the mainstream Bitcoin community, even publishing an indictment of Bitcoin culture called “Hijacking Bitcoin” earlier this year.
The 45-year-old Bitcoin booster’s arrest and indictment have shocked the cryptocurrency community, highlighting the ongoing challenges faced by early adopters who have amassed significant wealth through digital assets.
As authorities continue to crack down on tax evasion and other financial crimes related to cryptocurrencies, the case of Roger Ver serves as a reminder of the importance of compliance with tax laws, regardless of your citizenship status or ideological beliefs.
