Roger J. Stone Jr., a longstanding ally of President Donald Trump, has been lobbying for a prominent cryptocurrency investor nicknamed “Bitcoin Jesus,” who is currently facing federal fraud and tax-related criminal charges, the New York Times reported Friday.
According to a report by the Times, congressional records reveal that Stone provided documents indicating he was engaged by Roger Ver, an early Bitcoin investor who was charged last year for allegedly hiding his cryptocurrency holdings to avoid paying $48 million in taxes.
Ver, who previously lived in California and gave up his U.S. citizenship in 2014, was arrested in Spain last year, per the Justice Department.
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In a recent filing, Stone mentioned that he received $600,000 from Ver since early February to assist with his client’s case. Ver reportedly worked to eliminate the tax provisions central to the allegations.
In January, Ver posted a video on social media in which he refuted the allegations against him, claiming that he was facing threats of a potential prison term exceeding 100 years due to his political beliefs and his involvement in advocating for cryptocurrency.
The video was a plea to Trump in which Ver connected his situation to the president’s concerns regarding the alleged misuse of the justice system.
“They’re doing the exact same thing to me that they’ve done to you,” he said in the video.
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