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Bitcoin Investor Avoids Prison by Agreeing to Pay $50 Million in Back Taxes, Penalties

Early crypto investor Roger Ver remains in Spain after being arrested in April 2024.
Bitcoin Investor Avoids Prison by Agreeing to Pay $50 Million in Back Taxes, Penalties
Representations of cryptocurrency bitcoin, in this illustration picture created in Paris, France, on March 9, 2024. Benoit Tessier/Illustration/Reuters
Jill McLaughlin
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Federal prosecutors will drop all charges against Roger Ver, an early bitcoin investor known as “Bitcoin Jesus,” after he agreed to pay nearly $50 million in back taxes and penalties, authorities announced on Oct. 14.

Ver, 46, remains in Spain after being arrested in April 2024 for tax evasion. The agreement ends years of legal wrangling over his alleged underpayment of capital gains taxes after leaving the country.

Jill McLaughlin
Jill McLaughlin
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Jill McLaughlin is an award-winning journalist covering politics, environment, and statewide issues. She has been a reporter and editor for newspapers in Oregon, Nevada, and New Mexico. Jill was born in Yosemite National Park and enjoys the majestic outdoors, traveling, golfing, and hiking.