The Department of Justice (DOJ) indictment claims that Ver advocated for Bitcoin (BTC) and obtained the primary cryptocurrency using personal finances and two corporate entities since 2011.
Ver, known as “Bitcoin Jesus,” allegedly renounced his U.S. citizenship in February 2014 and acquired citizenship from St. Kitts and Nevis, as per the Justice Department. Following this, Ver was allegedly obligated to submit tax returns for capital gains derived from his Bitcoin-related investments and reveal the fair market value of his assets in compliance with U.S. regulations.
Reportedly, Ver possessed approximately 131,000 bitcoins individually and an additional 73,000 through MemoryDealers.com Inc. and Agilestar.com Inc. Both companies were based in the U.S. and thus were under the jurisdiction of U.S. laws.
DOJ prosecutors claimed that Ver sold off several thousand bitcoins in 2017, amounting to an approximate $240 million, yet purportedly failed to fulfill the legal obligation of paying capital gains or exit tax, despite no longer holding U.S. citizenship.
The indictment clarifies that the investor remained legally obliged to report specific distributions, such as company dividends for MemoryDealers and Agilestar.
Rather than complying, the Justice Department alleged that Ver concealed his accounts from the IRS and obscured proceeds from the 2017 Bitcoin sales, resulting in a tax liability of over $48 million. Following his arrest in Europe, the United States government intends to pursue Ver’s extradition and prosecute him domestically.
Ver emerged as a notable Bitcoin advocate during the nascent stages of cryptocurrency and subsequently assumed the role of CEO at Bitcoin.com, a pioneering platform offering storage and trading services for the world’s largest blockchain asset.
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