Roger Ver was arrested for tax evasion

[Father]

"Bitcoin Jesus" and founder Bitcoin.com Roger Vera was detained in Spain on charges of tax fraud by the US Department of Justice.

Authorities intend to have him extradited to the United States, where he is charged with mail fraud, tax evasion and filing false returns.

According to the statement of law enforcement officers, Ver allegedly hid possession of the first cryptocurrency from the US Internal Revenue Service( IRS), which caused losses in the amount of $48 million.

In June 2017, the defendant's two companies owned approximately 70,000 BTC, which he later embezzled by hiding information from an accountant, and "sold tens of thousands of them on cryptocurrency exchanges for approximately $240 million."

"Despite the fact that Ver was not a U.S. citizen at the time, he was still legally required to report to the IRS and pay taxes on certain income, including dividends from MemoryDealers and Agilestar, which were American corporations," the Justice Department said.

The entrepreneur also used legal services to prepare and file false tax returns that underestimated the value of two of his companies.

Ver resided in Santa Clara, California, but renounced his U.S. citizenship in 2014 after receiving a passport from Saint Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean.

• Source: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/early-bitcoin-investor-charged-tax-fraud

 

[Tomcat]

Company Founder Bitcoin.com Roger Ver has been released on bail from prison in Spain. The crypto enthusiast is facing extradition to the United States on charges of tax fraud.

Roger Ver was allowed to leave the prison on May 17 after posting bail of 150,000 euros (about $163,000). However, he was presented with a condition — Ver must remain in Spain and hand over his passport to law enforcement agencies. Founder Bitcoin.com he must also appear in court every two days. The prosecutor's appeal against Vera's release was rejected.

Spanish police arrested Roger Ver in May of this year at the request of the US authorities. They are seeking the extradition of Vera to face charges of tax fraud. According to the US Department of Justice, Ver did not report any capital gains and did not pay taxes on his bitcoins, which he began purchasing in 2011. In 2017, Ver sold about $240 million worth of bitcoins, but did not report this transaction to the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The agency claims that Ver did not pay at least $48 million to the treasury of the American state. In 2014, Ver renounced his US citizenship and became a citizen of the state of Saint Kitts and Nevis. However, the entrepreneur was still required to file tax returns with the IRS, reporting income from certain assets.

Roger Vera's lawyer Jaime Campaner assured that his client is not a fugitive from justice, since he was in contact with the US authorities through his lawyers in California. He was aware of the investigation, so the arrest of Vera did not make sense, the lawyer said.