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‘Bitcoin Jesus’ reaches $50 million deal with DOJ to dismiss tax evasion charges
Another alleged crypto criminal is set to end a legal battle with the U.S. government. Roger Ver, an early crypto evangelist nicknamed “Bitcoin Jesus,” reached a deferred prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice on Tuesday, according to a court filing. In exchange for $49.9 million from Ver, prosecutors decided not to pursue a federal indictment against the early crypto investor for tax evasion.
Ver was a prominent figure in the early days of crypto, and obtained the “Bitcoin Jesus” moniker for his habit of giving out Bitcoin to random people he encountered. In 2011, he began investing in the cryptocurrency, according to the initial indictment and, in March 2014, controlled more than 130,664 Bitcoins, which translates to more than $14.75 billion at current prices. That same year, he renounced his U.S. citizenship after he became a citizen of the Caribbean nation St. Kitts and Nevis.
Although he was required to pay an exit tax on all his holdings upon renouncing his citizenship, Ver never paid tax on his Bitcoin, he admitted in the deferred prosecution agreement. The capital gains tax he owed from his cryptocurrency hoard totaled near $17 million, said prosecutors. The nearly $50 million settlement he reached with the DOJ includes not only his tax liability but also a civil penalty and unpaid interest.
Neither lawyers for Ver nor spokespeople for the DOJ immediately responded to a request for comment. The New York Times first reported on Ver’s settlement last week before prosecutors submitted the Tuesday court filing.
“This resolution sends a clear message: whether you deal in dollars or digital assets, you must file accurate tax returns and pay what you owe,” said Associate Deputy Attorney General Ketan Bhirud in a statement.
Crypto crime
Ver’s settlement with the DOJ is the latest sign of President Donald Trump’s pullback on crypto crime in his second term.
Shortly after he took office in January, the President pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, an online black market for drugs and other illicit substances. Ulbricht was a cause célèbre among libertarians for his creation of an online marketplace where anyone could conceivably buy anything. He was also a mythic figure in crypto, since Silk Road, which asked users to pay in Bitcoin, helped propel the cryptocurrency into the mainstream.
After pardoning Ulbricht, Trump’s administration further signaled its lax stance on crypto enforcement when it disbanded in April the DOJ’s crypto unit, or NCET, the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team.
Now, Changpeng Zhao, the founder of the world’s largest crypto exchange Binance, is reportedly lobbying the Trump administration for a pardon of his own. In 2023, the crypto mogul reached a settlement with the DOJ and pleaded guilty to failing to maintain a proper anti-money laundering system. He served four months in prison but still has a criminal record in the U.S.
Update, Oct. 14, 2025: This article was updated to include a comment from the DOJ.
