Ah, my fellow frogs, let me croak to you about a tale that’s rocked the crypto world like a ripple in a tranquil pond. Brace yourselves, for the saga of Bitcoin Cash founder Roger Ver has taken a dramatic turn.
Roger Ver, the man affectionately known as “Bitcoin Jesus,” finds himself in hot water, with the long arm of the law reaching out to touch him in sunny Spain. It’s a story of alleged mail fraud, tax evasion, and filing false tax returns that has sent shockwaves through the crypto community.
According to the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Ver’s indictment, unsealed with a flourish, paints a picture of a man embroiled in fraudulent activities, with accusations swirling around his companies and his personal stash of Bitcoin (BTC).
The tale begins in 2011, a time when Bitcoin was but a fledgling tadpole in the vast ocean of finance. Ver, it is alleged, was busy engaging in misconduct through his companies MemoryDealers.com Inc. and Agilestar.com Inc. But the plot thickens – after bidding adieu to his US citizenship in 2014, Ver purportedly failed to report his capital gains and pay the required exit tax on his hefty Bitcoin holdings.
By 2014, Ver and his companies reportedly held a whopping 131,000 BTC, valued at a princely sum of $871 each. But it doesn’t end there – the indictment alleges that Ver provided false information to a law firm and an appraiser, resulting in tax returns that downplayed his companies’ worth and conveniently omitted his personal Bitcoin stash.
And then, my friends, there’s the sale of around 70,000 bitcoins in 2017, fetching a jaw-dropping $240 million. But alas, it is claimed that Ver failed to report these gains or pay taxes on them, leaving the IRS nursing a bitter loss of at least $48 million.
Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, along with US Attorney Martin Estrada, sounded the clarion call, with the IRS Criminal Investigation’s cybercrimes unit leading the charge. It’s a high-stakes game, with Assistant Chief Matthew J. Kluge, Trial Attorney Peter J. Anthony, and Assistant U.S. Attorney James C. Hughes at the helm.
And so, my dear frogs, the saga of Roger Ver unfolds, a cautionary tale of the perils that lurk in the murky depths of the crypto world. Ribbit on, my friends, and may we tread carefully in these turbulent waters of finance and freedom.
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