Roger Ver, Early Bitcoin Pioneer Known as “Bitcoin Jesus,” Faces Up to 109 Years in Prison

Roger Ver, an early Bitcoin pioneer known as “Bitcoin Jesus,” faces up to 109 years in prison as U.S. authorities pursue charges related to $48 million in alleged unpaid taxes.

Roger Ver, a pioneer in the cryptocurrency field, faces up to 109 years in prison for allegedly failing to pay $48 million in taxes. Ver, who is known as “Bitcoin Jesus,” was arrested in Spain in April 2024 at a crypto conference. He is currently under house arrest while the U.S. authorities pursue charges against him.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged Ver with eight counts, including mail fraud, tax evasion, and filing false tax returns. The charges are related to Ver’s decision to renounce his U.S. citizenship in 2014 and his subsequent cryptocurrency transactions.

According to the DOJ’s indictment, Ver allegedly undervalued tens of thousands of bitcoins, which were technically owned by his U.S.-based companies, MemoryDealers and Agilestar, when he sold them in 2017. The bitcoins were valued at $240 million at the time of the sale.

The case centers on Ver’s “exit tax” calculations when he gave up his U.S. citizenship. Prosecutors claim that Ver undervalued his companies, which at times held over 73,000 bitcoins, during the expatriation process. The cryptocurrency traded between $800 and $330 during 2014.

After his arrest, Ver secured release on €150,000 (approximately $157,000) bail in May 2024. However, Spanish authorities continue to hold him under house arrest while they consider the U.S. extradition request.

Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road marketplace who received a pardon from President Trump, has publicly supported Ver. “Roger Ver was there for me when I was down and needed help. Now Roger needs our support,” Ulbricht posted on X. “No one should spend the rest of their life in prison over taxes.”

Ver’s legal team from Steptoe LLP and Kimura London & White argues that the case represents “unconstitutional overreach.” They claim that the DOJ’s pursuit is politically motivated due to Ver’s libertarian views and cryptocurrency advocacy.

This is Ver’s second encounter with U.S. law enforcement. In 2002, he served 10 months in federal prison for selling fireworks on eBay without proper licensing and for improper storage and mailing practices.

After completing supervised release in 2005, Ver left the United States for Japan. He later obtained citizenship in St. Kitts and Nevis in 2014 after an unsuccessful attempt to gain Guatemalan citizenship.

Ver’s defense team points to alleged improper conduct by IRS agents, who questioned his tax lawyer and MemoryDealers employees without warrants in 2018. The defense claims this violated attorney-client privilege and argues that the IRS overlooks evidence of Ver’s good-faith efforts to meet his tax obligations.

The legal team also challenges the constitutionality of the exit tax itself, particularly regarding its application to cryptocurrency holdings. This tax, which was implemented in 2008, requires wealthy individuals to pay taxes on unrealized capital gains before leaving the U.S. tax system.

Ver played a key role in Bitcoin’s early development, providing seed funding for companies like BitPay and Kraken. However, he later faced criticism for supporting “big blocks” during the Bitcoin/Bitcoin Cash split.

A “Free Roger” campaign, modeled after the successful “Free Ross” movement, has gained support among cryptocurrency enthusiasts and libertarians. The campaign website argues that “after six years of investigation, the IRS charges Roger under questionable pretenses.”

Prediction markets on Polymarket show Ver has a 10% chance of receiving a Trump pardon within the president’s first 100 days in office. This places him ahead of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s 2% odds but behind Edward Snowden and Julian Assange.