Roger Ver, known by his moniker “Bitcoin Jesus,” was arrested in Spain after allegedly engaging in tax evasion, mail fraud, and filing false tax returns, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Wednesday.
Ver allegedly cheated the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of at least $48 million by undervaluing his companies and falsely stating that he did not personally own any bitcoins during and after his expatriation process, federal prosecutors said in a press release.
Early Bitcoin Investor Charged with Tax Fraud https://t.co/YrQyl3Jrze
— Ilan Hulkower (@IHulkower) May 1, 2024
Even after renouncing U.S. citizenship in February 2014, Ver was still required under American law “to the IRS and pay tax on certain distributions such as dividends” from his companies, which were based in the United States, the press release noted. Ver was accused of concealing relevant information “from his accountant that he had received and sold” his companies’ bitcoins in 2017, the DOJ claimed. (RELATED: Hacking Of Insurance Giant Is Bringing US Health Care System To Its Knees)
Ver allegedly continued to break the law by June 2017 when his companies “continued to own approximately 70,000 bitcoins,” according to the DOJ. Ver “allegedly took possession of those bitcoins and in November 2017 sold tens of thousands of them on cryptocurrency exchanges for approximately $240 million in cash,” the press release added.
Ver earned his moniker “Bitcoin Jesus” by his alleged promotion and acquisition of bitcoins for himself and his companies starting in 2011, prosecutors wrote. Ver has particularly promoted Bitcoin cash, Axios reported.
Bryan Skarlatos, an attorney for Ver, told the New York Post that his client was “very disappointed and surprised” about this development. “Mr. Ver relied on leading tax professionals to help him report his Bitcoin and he always intended to fully comply with his US tax obligations. We look forward to establishing his innocence in court, if necessary,” Skarlatos said.
The United States will seek Ver’s extradition from Spain to face trial, the press release observed.