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Bitcoin Investor Jailed for Hiding $4M in Crypto Gains

Bitcoin Investor Jailed for Hiding $4M in Crypto Gains

AltcoinbuzzAltcoinbuzz2024/12/16 19:00
By:By Victor -Victor -

Frank Richard Ahlgren III, an early Bitcoin investor from Austin, Texas, is headed to prison for two years after failing to report millions of dollars in cryptocurrency gains

His case marks the first criminal tax evasion prosecution in the U.S. focused solely on crypto.

Ahlgren started investing in Bitcoin in 2011 and bought 1,366 BTC in 2015 when Bitcoin was trading for less than $500. Let’s discover more about this news about crypto gains.

Bitcoin Investor Hid Millions in Unreported Taxes

By 2017, the value of Bitcoin had skyrocketed. He sold 640 BTC for $3.7 million, using the money to invest in real estate. But there was one big problem—he didn’t report most of the crypto gains on his taxes.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed that Ahlgren filed a false tax return in 2017. He inflated the cost of the Bitcoin he bought. He made his profits look much smaller than they were. He also failed to report over $650,000 in Bitcoin sales for 2018 and 2019.

🆕🇺🇸In a major first for crypto regulation, Frank Richard Ahlgren III, a Texas Bitcoin investor, has been sentenced to two years in prison for underreporting millions in gains. 😱

Between 2017-2019, Ahlgren sold $4 million worth of Bitcoin, but tried to hide his profits from the… pic.twitter.com/gb3f9YMuqz

— Benzinga (@Benzinga) December 13, 2024

Trying to Cover His Tracks

Authorities say Ahlgren tried to hide his tracks. He moved funds through multiple crypto wallets , used mixers to make transactions harder to trace, and even made some in-person cash deals. Back in 2014, Ahlgren wrote a blog post about using mixers to keep Bitcoin transactions private, showing he knew exactly what he was doing.

NEW: Frank Ahlgren, an early Bitcoin investor from Austin, Texas, has been sentenced to 2 years in prison for tax fraud. According to the DOJ, Ahlgren falsely reported capital gains from selling 640 Bitcoin valued at $3.7 million between 2017 and 2019, using methods such as… pic.twitter.com/NHkNklIdxT

— Bitcoin News (@BitcoinNewsCom) December 14, 2024

Despite his efforts, the IRS was able to follow the trail. Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart Goldberg said Ahlgren’s actions led to over $1 million in unpaid taxes. “He will serve time because he believed his cryptocurrency transactions were untraceable,” said Lucy Tan, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the IRS’s Criminal Investigation Houston Field Office.

Disclaimer

The information discussed by Altcoin Buzz is not financial advice. This is for educational, entertainment, and informational purposes only. Any information or strategies are thoughts and opinions relevant to the accepted risk tolerance levels of the writer/reviewers and their risk tolerance may be different than yours. We are not responsible for any losses you may incur due to any investments directly or indirectly related to the information provided. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are high-risk investments so please do your due diligence. Copyright Altcoin Buzz Pte Ltd.

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Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.

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