Early Bitcoin Investor Roger Ver Faces Tax Fraud Charges

By: Isha Das

Early Bitcoin investor Roger Ver was arrested in Spain upon action by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) after a series of alleged fraud allegations. As per the case files, Ver is charged with mail fraud, tax evasion, and filing misleading tax returns, with claims that he caused the IRS a loss of at least $48 million.

According to the DOJ, Ver, along with his digital currency companies MemoryDealers and Agilestar, held a considerable amount of Bitcoin (131,000 BTC worth $871 each) by February 2014. The companies reportedly owned around 73,000 of the total Bitcoin.

The alleged deception started when Ver renounced his US citizenship in 2014 and subsequently hired a law firm and an appraiser to oversee his tax liabilities and evaluate his businesses. The DOJ alleges that significant underreporting occurred at this point, with Ver's personal Bitcoin holdings unreported and the companies' worth substantially undervalued.

Following the arrest, the US is now seeking Ver's extradition for trial. The DOJ's case presents extensive allegations, including Ver's accumulation of 70,000 BTC from his companies in 2017, followed by a $240 million sale on various exchanges, all concealed from his accountant and unreported in his personal tax return.