The United States Department of Justice has revealed charges against Bitcoin investor Roger Ver, who is famously known as “Bitcoin Jesus.” Spanish authorities have arrested Ver based on various criminal charges, including mail fraud, tax evasion, and filing false tax returns. The U.S. government alleges that Ver defrauded the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by failing to report capital gains from the sale of Bitcoin and other assets, resulting in a loss of approximately $48 million.
According to an indictment filed on February 15 and unsealed on April 29, Ver took control of around 70,000 BTC in June 2017 and sold a significant portion of them for $240 million, just before the well-known bull run. U.S. officials plan to extradite Ver from Spain to face trial in the United States.
The reaction to Ver’s arrest on social media has been mixed. Some, like former growth lead at Kraken, Dan Held, believe that Ver deserves the consequences he is about to face due to the damage he caused to Bitcoin. Held claims that Ver attacked his livelihood, attempted to get him fired, damaged his relationships, and tarnished his reputation. Held also states that Ver’s misalignment of expectations around Bitcoin led to a civil war within the community.
Aside from his involvement with Bitcoin, Ver was also a supporter of Bitcoin Cash (BCH). In 2022, he was caught up in a scandal with cryptocurrency investment platform CoinFlex, which claimed that Ver owed them $47 million in USD Coin (USDC). At the time of this article’s publication, Ver had not made any statements on social media regarding the charges brought against him by the Justice Department.
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Roger Ver indicted by US Justice Department for tax fraud