Roger Ver’s lawyers filed a motion to dismiss his U.S. tax evasion indictment, alleging $50 million unpaid taxes. The move comes amid evolving U.S. crypto policies ahead of the Trump administration.
Attorneys for Roger Ver have submitted a motion to dismiss the criminal indictment against the early Bitcoin adopter on Tuesday. The indictment is based on allegations that Ver failed to pay $50 million in delinquent taxes and engaged in tax evasion.
Ver, who is referred to as “Bitcoin Jesus” in the crypto community due to his advocacy for Bitcoin, was indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice in April for tax evasion. He was subsequently apprehended by Spanish authorities.
The motion to dismiss is timed to coincide with a changing regulatory environment, as the U.S. government, including the Justice Department, is confronted with substantial pro-crypto policy changes under the impending Trump Administration in January.
“The government’s charges against Roger Ver rely on violations of his rights; misleading, selective quotations of communications presented to the grand jury,” the motion reads.
“Fundamentally, on the false and anachronistic pretense that U.S. tax rules provided meaningful guidance to those who, like Ver, were among the pioneers in the now mainstream cryptocurrency economy.”
The Department of Justice’s indictment contends that Ver neglected to report the value of his Bitcoin holdings in 2014 when he renounced his U.S. citizenship and failed to pay taxes on the sale of approximately $240 million worth of Bitcoin in 2017.
Ver’s attorneys stated in the motion that he and his former counsel “engaged in good-faith discussions” with the DOJ. However, during these discussions, Ver’s attorneys claimed that the government covertly indicted him while feigning interest in negotiations.
The motion also posits that Ver’s purported failure to pay taxes was significantly influenced by the ambiguous and vague tax regulations of the United States.
Ver’s attorneys contended that the legal framework is inadequately conceived to provide adequate guidance to tax law experts and average taxpayers, thereby complicating the determination of the limits of criminal liability.
“This task of navigating regulatory uncertainty posed special difficulties in the case of cryptocurrencies, particularly for BTC in its infancy,” the attorneys said. “The United States government—though not the DOJ or IRS—specifically acknowledged this difficulty.”
The legal team of Ver contends that the Department of Justice (DOJ) continues to selectively cite and incorporate documents that undermine its case and violate Ver’s attorney-client privilege.
Ver was released from Spanish custody in May on a $160,000 bail while he awaits a judgment regarding his extradition to the United States.
“This prosecution must end,” Ver’s attorneys said. “The evidence that the government withheld from the grand jury and with which it has been recently provided make clear that this indictment was obtained and continues to be prosecuted without regard to fundamental fairness or due process.”