Last Tuesday, Roger Ver's lawyers filed a motion to dismiss the criminal charges against Bitcoin Adoption for tax evasion and failure to pay $50 million in unpaid taxes.
Known as “Bitcoin Jesus” for his Bitcoin evangelism in the crypto space, Ver was arrested by Spanish authorities in April on charges of tax fraud by the US Department of Justice.
The resignation coincides with a changing regulatory environment as the US government, including the Justice Department, faces major pro-crypto policy changes from the Trump administration in January.
“The state's indictment against Roger Weir is based on a violation of his rights; misleading, selective communications excerpts were presented to the grand jury,” the dissent reads.
“Essentially, the false and anachronistic pretense that US tax laws provide meaningful guidance to those who, like Ver, are now pioneers in the mainstream cryptocurrency economy.”
The DOJ indictment alleges Ver failed to pay taxes on an estimated $240 million worth of bitcoin sales in 2017 and underreported the value of his bitcoin holdings in 2014 when he denied his US citizenship.
At the hearing, Ver's attorneys said he and his former counsel had “good faith discussions” with the DOJ. However, in the midst of these discussions, Vere's lawyers said the government had secretly prosecuted him under the pretense that he was still willing to negotiate.
Vague and unclear US tax laws also played a major role in Vere's alleged tax evasion, it suggested. Vere's lawyers argued that the legal framework lacked adequate guidance for average taxpayers and tax law professionals, making it difficult to determine the scope of criminal liability.
“This task of navigating regulatory uncertainty has created particular challenges for cryptocurrencies, especially BTC in its infancy,” the lawyers said. “The United States government—though not the DOJ or the IRS—has specifically acknowledged this problem.
Ver's legal team says the DOJ continues to selectively subpoena damaging documents and violate Ver's attorney-client privilege. In May, Ver was released on $160,000 bail in Spain pending a decision on his extradition to the United States.
“This lawsuit must stop,” Vere's lawyers said. “The government's withholding of evidence to the grand jury and recent evidence clearly show that this case was discovered and prosecuted without regard to basic fairness and justice.”
Edited by Sebastian Sinclair.
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