Roger Ver, known as 'Bitcoin Jesus' and a prominent advocate for Bitcoin Cash, has been arrested in Spain following charges by the U.S. Department of Justice for tax evasion. The indictment, unsealed on April 29, accuses Ver of evading taxes on $50 million, engaging in mail fraud, and filing false tax returns. The charges detail that Ver allegedly misled the IRS about the true amount of Bitcoin owned by him and his companies, leading to a reported loss of $48 million. After renouncing his U.S. citizenship in 2014 for citizenship in St. Kitts and Nevis, Ver failed to report capital gains or pay the required exit tax on his significant Bitcoin assets. The indictment also alleges that Ver sold 70,000 Bitcoins for about $240 million in 2017 without reporting the gains or paying taxes on them. Ver, an early Bitcoin investor who later shifted his support to Bitcoin Cash, is now facing extradition to the U.S. to stand trial.

Authorities in Spain have arrested Roger Ver,  Bitcoin Cash advocate and a public figure often called “Bitcoin Jesus,” after the U.S. Department of Justicecharged him with tax evasion.In the indictment unsealed on April 29, the DOJ claimed that Ver evaded paying taxes amounting to $50 million, conducted mail fraud, and filed false tax returns.Ver is currently facing extradition to the United States to stand trial.Roger Ver’s Alleged Tax Evasion RevealedAccording to a freshly unsealed indictment, controversial Bitcoin Cash backer Roger Ver allegedly lied to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) about how much Bitcoin he and his companies MemoryDealers.com Inc. and Agilestar.com Inc. really owned, thereby causing the purported loss of $48 million.The indictment notes that after renouncing his US citizenship in 2014 and securing citizenship in St. Kitts and Nevis, Ver failed to report capital gains and pay the requisite “exit tax” on his considerable Bitcoin assets. By 2014, Ver and his companies reportedly owned about 131,000 BTC, valued at approximately $871 each at the time.The feds further allege that the early Bitcoin investor provided inaccurate information to a law firm and an appraiser, resulting in the filing of tax returns that undervalued his businesses and omitted his personal BTC ownership. Ver sold 70,000 Bitcoins for roughly $240 million in 2017 — before the now famous bull run— but failed to inform the IRS about the gains he accrued, even though his U.S.-based corporations held the crypto.“Ver allegedly concealed from his accountant that he had received and sold MemoryDealers’ and Agilestar’s bitcoins that year,” the Department of Justice continued. “As a result, Ver’s 2017 individual income tax return did not report any gain or pay any tax related to the distribution of MemoryDealers’ and Agilestar’s bitcoins to him.”Ver has been involved in BTC since its early days. He earned the moniker of “Bitcoin Jesus” from reportedly giving away the alpha cryptocurrency for free. But he later switched to endorsing BTC hard fork Bitcoin Cash, and now claims the offshoot is the real Bitcoin.For Bitcoiners like Dan Held, Ver has been a “net negative” for Bitcoin. Heldassertedthat Ver“deserves everything that he’s about to get” after he “nearly destroyed Bitcoin.”“Roger attacked my livelihood by trying to get me fired, called up others to hurt my relationships, and attacked my reputation,” Held explained. “He misaligned expectations around Bitcoin so much that it led to a civil war.”

Roger Ver, 'Bitcoin Jesus', Arrested for Alleged $50 Million Tax Evasion