Waylon Wilcox, 45, of Dillsburg, pled guilty to two counts of filing false individual income tax returns

Prosecutors said Wilcox sold 97 NFTs from the "CryptoPunks" collection—62 in 2021 for about $7.4 million and another 35 in 2022 for roughly $4.9 million.

Waylon Wilcox, 45, of Dillsburg, pleaded guilty on Tuesday, April 9, before Senior United States District Judge Malachy E. Mannion, to two counts of filing false individual income tax returns.

As part of a plea agreement, Wilcox admitted that he sold 97 NFTs from the “CryptoPunks” collection—62 in 2021 for about $7.4 million and another 35 in 2022 for roughly $4.9 million.

CryptoPunks, among the earliest NFT collections, are pixelated digital portraits generated by Larva Labs and recorded on the Ethereum blockchain. They commanded astronomical prices in the early days of the NFT boom, with some rare CryptoPunks fetching millions of dollars at auction.

However, Wilcox allegedly failed to claim any of this income on his taxes.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a release on Friday, April 11, that Wilcox claimed on his 2021 and 2022 returns that he had no sold or disposed of any virtual assets.

The filings also failed to disclose any NFT sales or related cryptocurrency transactions, and falsely reported less than $600,000 in total income for both years—underreporting more than $13 million and dodging about $3.2 million in taxes.

Court documents explain that Wilcox knowingly made false declarations under penalty of perjury on both returns.

Meanwhile, Wilcox frequently posted travel photos on Instagram and Facebook. In a Facebook post dated April 1, his girlfriend announced that her daughter, Analiya, had qualified for a statewide beauty pageant—and requested donations and sponsorships to help cover costs.

“Her daughter has been invited to go to states for her pageant after winning this past Saturday! With that comes of course more fees and costs.” The post read, tagging Wilcox and adding, “Any donations or sponsorships would be greatly appreciated to help get her to her goal!”

Daily Voice has reached out to Wilcox’s attorney and his girlfriend for comment regarding his social media activity and the fundraising appeal amid the undisclosed NFT profits.

“IRS Criminal Investigation is committed to unraveling complex financial schemes involving virtual currencies and non-fungible token (NFT) transactions designed to conceal taxable income,” said Special Agent in Charge Yury Kruty. “This case serves as a stark reminder that the agency has broad authority to pursue and prosecute those who engage in such activity.”

Wilcox faces a maximum penalty of six years in prison, a term of supervised release, and significant fines when sentenced. The IRS Criminal Investigation division conducted the probe, and Assistant U.S. Attorney David C. Williams is prosecuting the case.

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