Following the pattern of very rich bitcoiners who fail to pay their taxes and somehow get arrested in Span, Roger Ver has just been detailed for exactly that, according to reports.
First of all we have the report from Ver's own newspaper, bitcoin.com (LOL!):
On April 30, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) detained Roger Ver, a trailblazing investor in bitcoin, on accusations of tax evasion and submitting fraudulent tax returns. The following update is accompanied by a statement from Bitcoin.com regarding the allegations against the company’s founder.
Bitcoin Investor Roger Ver Charged With Tax Evasion
According to the DOJ press release, by 2014, Roger Ver and his companies, Memorydealers and Agilestar, reportedly controlled over 131,000 bitcoins, each valued at about $871. Memorydealers and Agilestar allegedly maintained control of approximately 73,000 of those bitcoins. However, he is accused of supplying misleading information to legal and valuation experts to minimize these assets’ declared value.
This alleged misstatement, according to the U.S. government, resulted in underreported company tax returns and the evasion of the mandatory “exit tax” on capital gains from his worldwide assets. Ver was apprehended in Spain, and the DOJ declared that the government intends to extradite him to face trial in the United States.
And then the newspaper predictably defended him:
Statement From Bitcoin.com
“In light of the recent news, we want to underscore that these legal matters pertain solely to Roger and have no bearing on Bitcoin.com. While we cannot comment on the specifics of the allegations, we stand by Roger and his contributions to the cryptocurrency space,” a Bitcoin.com spokesperson told our newsdesk.
“Importantly, these legal proceedings do not affect our operations or the services we provide. Bitcoin.com remains steadfast in our mission of making money accessible to everyone, everywhere, without limits. Our commitment to this mission remains unwavering. This litigation does not affect our operations or the services we provide. Our non-custodial wallet ensures that users always maintain control of their funds,” the spokesperson added.
What is this statement supposed to be, the editor talking to himself? I find it quite funny that Bitcoin.com needs to talk to its spokesperson in order to write about this.