Pardoned Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht is asking for clemency for Roger Ver, also known as Bitcoin Jesus, who is facing a possible decades-long prison sentence for alleged tax evasion.
In a Feb. 20 statement to X, the recently freed Ulbricht said Ver advocated for him while he was imprisoned and now he wants to return the favor.
“Roger Ver was there for me when I was down and needed help. Now Roger needs our support,” he said.
“No one should spend the rest of their life in prison over taxes. Let him pay the tax (if any) and be done with it.”
Ver was arrested in Spain last April based on criminal charges in the US and charged with tax evasion, filing false tax returns and fraud.
US authorities argue Ver filed a fraudulent and false exit tax after renouncing his citizenship for a Japanese one in 2014 and are seeking extradition to the US, where Ver could face a possible sentence of up to 109 years behind bars.
The IRS exit tax requires that US citizen pay all the necessary taxes before renouncing their citizenship and removing themselves from the country’s taxation system.
The US Department of Justice alleges Ver failed to report significant capital gains from Bitcoin (BTC) sales and underreported the value of two companies when he renounced his US citizenship.
Prosecutors allege Ver concealed 131,000 Bitcoin, worth nearly $240 million at the time of sale in 2017, leading to a $48 million tax shortfall.
Ver has denied the allegations, arguing there were barriers to submitting an appropriate exit tax request, including a lack of liquid markets for Bitcoin at the time.
He attempted to have the case dismissed last December on the grounds that the US exit tax laws are unconstitutional and vague.
Meanwhile, in a Jan. 26 video posted to X, Ver asked US President Donald Trump to help him, saying only Trump’s “commitment to justice can save me.”
Mr. President, I am an American, and I need your help. Only you, with your commitment to justice, can save me @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/WhVTZ1M1GB
Trump gave a full pardon to Ulbricht, who had been in prison for 12 years and was facing life behind bars after being hit with a sentence of 40 years plus two life sentences for founding the defunct darknet marketplace the Silk Road.
Freeing Ulbricht was one of Trump’s many promises to the crypto community during his presidential campaign.
He had pledged to pardon the Silk Road founder on his first day in office if reelected, but the new president took an extra day after his inauguration on Jan. 20 to follow through in freeing Ulbricht.
