US Justice Department Charges Roger Ver with Tax Fraud

As an experienced financial analyst, I find it disheartening to see individuals who have made significant gains in the cryptocurrency industry, such as Roger Ver, facing allegations of tax evasion. The U.S. Department of Justice’s charges against Ver are serious and carry significant consequences if proven true.


The U.S. Department of Justice has filed accusations against Roger Ver, a prominent early Bitcoin backer nicknamed “Bitcoin Jesus,” for suspected tax fraud. Ver was apprehended in Spain on charges involving mail fraud, tax evasion, and submitting false American tax returns.

The U.S. authorities claim that Ver failed to disclose approximately $50 million worth of capital gains from the sale of Bitcoin and other assets to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

In June 2017, it is alleged that Ver obtained around 70,000 bitcoins and later sold a significant portion of them for $240 million according to the accusation. However, even though Ver wasn’t an American citizen then, he was still required by law to report and pay taxes on certain income distributions, including earnings from U.S.-based corporations.

An indictment was unveiled on the previous day, accusing Roger Ver – a pioneering bitcoin investor – of mail fraud, tax evasion, and submitting false tax returns. Ver was taken into custody over the weekend in Spain following these U.S. criminal accusations. Known as the ‘Bitcoin Jesus,’ Ver is…

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It is claimed that he hid from his accountant the fact that he had obtained and disposed of bitcoins from these corporations, leading to his 2017 personal income tax return failing to report any earnings or tax liability derived from these transactions.

Furthermore, it is alleged that Ver hired lawyers to create and submit inaccurate tax documents. These filings underreported the value of his businesses, hid significant bitcoin assets, and failed to disclose his personal ownership of bitcoins.

Roger Ver Faces Extradition Following Tax Fraud Charges

Roger Ver, a prominent figure in the Bitcoin community who previously held the CEO position at Bitcoin.com, is currently under the threat of extradition to the United States. This comes following accusations of mail fraud, tax evasion, and submitting falsified tax returns against him by the U.S. Department of Justice. Ver, famously referred to as ‘Bitcoin Jesus,’ was taken into custody in Spain based on these charges.

According to the indictment, Ver failed to disclose his possession of around $48 million worth of bitcoins to the IRS, despite having tax obligations as a non-citizen receiving distributions from American corporations.

As a crypto investor, I’d put it this way: According to the indictment, Ver allegedly concealed the distributions he received, which in turn prevented the due payment of taxes on substantial profits derived from selling bitcoins.

Ver is under investigation for submitting misleading tax returns using legal assistance. These returns reportedly hid the true value of his businesses, failed to disclose their bitcoin holdings, and omitted his personal ownership of bitcoins. Despite relinquishing his American citizenship, Ver may be extradited to the U.S. to answer for these alleged tax fraud charges.

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2024-04-30 23:00