‘Bitcoin Jesus’ Roger Ver Reaches Tentative Agreement with DOJ in $48 Million Tax Case
Highlights:
- Roger Ver could avoid prison by paying $48 million in cryptocurrency taxes.
- He allegedly hid 131,000 BTC, leading to charges of tax evasion and fraud.
- His ties to Trump advisers and supportive crypto policies influenced his legal fight.
Roger Ver, a well-known supporter of Bitcoin often called “Bitcoin Jesus” in the crypto world, has reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice that could save him from going to jail. Bitcoin Jesus was arrested in April of last year in Spain and faced charges of mail fraud, tax evasion, and filing false tax returns. Prosecutors claimed that Ver hid his Bitcoin holdings from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, leading to an alleged tax loss of $48 million.
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According to The New York Times, Roger Ver, known as “Bitcoin Jesus,” has agreed to pay $48 million under a deferred prosecution deal with the U.S. Department of Justice to settle a tax evasion case. He reportedly paid $600,000 to Trump ally Roger Stone and hired lawyers and…
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) October 9, 2025
Ver’s Tentative Tax Agreement with DOJ May Resolve Long-Running Case
On Thursday, The New York Times reported that Ver’s lawyers reached a tentative deal with U.S. authorities. Under this agreement, Ver would pay nearly $48 million to the government, and the charges could be dropped if he accepted the terms, according to sources familiar with the situation.
At the time of reporting, the tentative agreement in Ver’s case had not appeared on the public docket in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The initial indictment claims that Ver falsely reported his cryptocurrency holdings on tax forms.
Prosecutors allege that he and two of his companies, MemoryDealers and Agilestar, controlled about 131,000 BTC in 2014. The Department of Justice also said Ver tried to avoid paying taxes by renouncing his U.S. citizenship and later becoming a citizen of St. Kitts and Nevis.
Connections with the Trump Administration and Crypto Support
Bitcoin Jesus also established connections with figures linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. He hired lawyers who had previously worked for Trump and reportedly paid $600,000 to Roger Stone, a political consultant and Trump adviser, to lobby for changes in U.S. tax laws.
“Even though Ver was not then a US citizen, he was still legally required to report to the IRS and pay tax on certain distributions,” said the Justice Department in April. Spanish authorities arrested Ver after his U.S. indictment in 2024, but he paid bail within a few days. Since then, his lawyers have been trying to stop Spanish authorities from extraditing him to the U.S. and are also fighting the charges in federal court.
Since President Donald Trump came to Washington D.C. last year, his administration has taken many steps to help the crypto world. They stopped investigations into big companies like Coinbase and Binance and put leaders who support crypto in charge of important government agencies.
During the first few days of his presidency, Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road. Later, Ulbricht also supported calls to “free” Roger Ver. “Roger Ver was there for me when I was down and needed help. Now Roger needs our support,” Ulbricht said on X in February. “No one should spend the rest of their life in prison over taxes.”
Roger Ver was there for me when I was down and needed help. Now Roger needs our support.
No one should spend the rest of their life in prison over taxes. Let him pay the tax (if any) and be done with it. #FreeRoger pic.twitter.com/flP573hm0N
— Ross Ulbricht (@RealRossU) February 20, 2025
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Syed Ali Haider
Ali Haider is a contributing crypto writer at Crypto2Community. He is a crypto and blockchain journalist with over six years of experience and has long advocated for digital freedom and cybersecurity. Haider has been featured in several high-profile crypto and finance outlets, including Coincult, AltcoinBeacon, BTCRead, and more.
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