The Department of Justice announced Tuesday that Roger Ver, a prominent figure from Bitcoin's early days, has been indicted on charges of mail fraud and filing false tax returns. In a press release announcing the charges, the agency said “Bitcoin Jesus” evaded nearly $50 million in taxes. This is a reference to the nickname Barr received around 2010 due to his habit of gifting Bitcoin to people he met.
Barr, a California native, renounced his U.S. citizenship shortly after obtaining a passport from St. Kitts and Nevis in 2014. At the time, he claimed the decision was a protest against U.S. government policy, but it was widely seen in the crypto industry as part of the policy. This was an effort to avoid paying taxes on the large amount of Bitcoin he acquired when the cryptocurrency was still trading for less than a few dollars.
The Justice Department said that even though Barr has renounced his U.S. citizenship, he must pay an “exit tax” and file a return listing capital gains and asset values.
According to an IRS indictment filed in Los Angeles, Barr worked with a law firm to avoid reporting his personal holdings and undervalued the company's holdings by 73,000 bitcoins. The indictment also says he sold tens of thousands of Bitcoins for $240 million in 2017.
“In total, Mr. Barr allegedly caused at least $48 million in losses to the IRS,” the Justice Department said.
By April 25, Mr. Ver was reportedly actively promoting cryptocurrencies on social media and was detained by US authorities in Spain.
The new charges against Barr shocked the online community known as CryptoTwitter, but put him in the same position as several other figures from Bitcoin's early days who have since gotten into criminal trouble. Become.
