- “Bitcoin Jesus” has been arrested in Spain for causing a loss of at least $48 million to the IRS in an alleged deliberate action to file false tax returns.
- With the US authorities expected to seek his extradition to stand trials in the United States, the crypto community reacts as they suspect dislike for his ideology.
Roger Ver, popularly referred to as “Bitcoin Jesus” has found himself in the grips of the Spanish authorities over multiple US criminal charges including mail fraud, tax evasion, and filing false tax returns.
According to an indictment unsealed on April 29, 2024, Ver owned two companies – MemoryDealers.com Inc. and Agilestar.com Inc. that specialized in the selling of computers and networking equipment. As known in the crypto world, he accumulated Bitcoins (BTC) for himself and the companies starting in 2011. At some point, he became an avid promoter of the emerging technology, earning him the title “Bitcoin Jesus”.
On February 4, 2014, he renounced his US citizenship after allegedly obtaining citizenship in St. Kitts and Nevis in a process called expatriation. As demanded by this process, Ver was reportedly required under US laws to file tax returns. This was supposed to capture his capital gains from the constructive sales of his assets worldwide while ensuring that the assets’ fair market values were indicated.
On top of that, Ver was required to pay an “exit tax” on this capital gain. According to the report published by the US Department of Justice (DoJ), Ver’s companies owned around 131,000 Bitcoins at that time with each token trading for $871 on February 4, 2014. Out of that, MemoryDealers and Agilestar owned 73,000 Bitcoins.
“Bitcoin Jesus” Allegedly Gave False Information for Tax Returns, Crypto Community React
The report further explains that Bitcoin Jesus hired a law firm to assist him with his expatriation and his related tax returns. In addition to that, he hired an appraiser to evaluate the value of his two companies. However, he allegedly provided false or misleading information to the law firm and the appraiser to conceal the exact number of Bitcoins owned by himself and the companies.
For this reason, the law firm filed a tax return that undervalued the companies and the Bitcoins owned. Also, it did not report that Ver owned any Bitcoin personally. Interestingly, his two companies continued to own 70,000 Bitcoins by June 2017. In November 2017, he sold most of the Bitcoins for $240 million in cash. Upon investigation, it was disclosed that Ver violated tax laws and caused a loss of at least $48 million to the IRS.
Contrary to the expected reactions, the crypto community has responded strongly as they sense some foul play and an obvious agenda against individuals who stand up for the ecosystem.
In a post reviewed by Crypto News Flash, Ripple Lab’s CTO David Schwartz appears to believe that Ver was targeted for the sake of his ideology. Speaking of a discussion he had with a Bitcoin OG some weeks ago, the Ripple CTO disclosed that they observed only two kinds of crime taken seriously by the US authorities. The first is the big, serious, and ugly crimes, and the second is any crime committed by someone they do not like. On a personal level, Schwartz believes that Ver is one of the most genuine and nicest people he has ever met.
He certainly might have evaded taxes. I really don’t know. I don’t think he would have had any moral qualms with evading taxes if he thought he could get away with it. But he certainly valued being able to sleep at night. That’s likely why he left the United States.”
