Early-Era US Bitcoin Investor Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Underreporting Gains From BTC Sales

A longtime Bitcoin investor will spend the subsequent two years in jail after under-reporting his BTC positive aspects, in line with the U.S. Division of Justice (DOJ).

In a brand new press launch, the DOJ says Frank Richard Ahlgren III of Austin, Texas did not precisely report the capital positive aspects he earned after promoting $3.7 million value of Bitcoin.

He was sentenced Thursday to 2 years in jail for submitting false tax returns.

The DOJ says taxpayers should report any positive aspects or losses from the sale of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

Says Stuart Goldberg, Appearing Deputy Assistant Legal professional Basic of the DOJ Tax Division,

“Frank Ahlgren III made thousands and thousands shopping for and promoting Bitcoins. However as an alternative of paying the taxes he knew have been due, he lied to his accountant in regards to the measurement of a lot of his income, and tried to cover one other portion of his income utilizing refined strategies that have been designed to obscure his transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain. That habits as we speak earned him a two-year jail sentence.”

Ahlgren made his first buy of Bitcoin in 2011 and in 2015 he acquired roughly 1,366 BTC utilizing US crypto change Coinbase.

In October 2017, he offered roughly 640 BTC, every value roughly $5,807 on the time, for a complete of $3.7 million. He used a lot of the cash to purchase a home in Park Metropolis, Utah.

However when he filed his 2017 tax return, he instructed his accountant that he had purchased the Bitcoin at a a lot increased worth than he did, pretending that his revenue was much less. He additionally offered BTC in 2018 and 2019 for greater than $650,000, however didn’t report the gross sales.

In accordance with the DOJ, Ahlgren’s false returns helped him keep away from paying greater than $1 million in taxes. Along with his two-year jail sentence, Ahlgren will probably be sentenced to at least one 12 months of supervised launch and pay $1,095,031 in restitution to america.

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