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Jimmy Aki
Author
Jimmy Aki
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Frank Richard Ahlgren III, a Bitcoin investor from Austin, Texas, has become the first individual criminally charged for failing to report cryptocurrency capital gains.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Ahlgren earned $3.7 million from selling 640 Bitcoin in 2017, which he subsequently used to purchase a luxury home in Park City, Utah.
Despite substantial profits, the investor systematically falsified his tax returns filed between 2017 and 2019, concealing profits and an additional $650,000 in Bitcoin transactions.
Ahlgren employed sophisticated methods to conceal his activities, including wallet transfers, crypto mixers, and in-person cash transactions.
His 2017 tax returns also reportedly contained false information about his Bitcoin purchase costs, allowing him to evade over $1 million in taxes.
The court sentenced Ahlgren to two years in prison, one year of supervised release, and restitution payments totaling $1.1 million for these crimes.
How Will the Sentence Impact Other US Investors?
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart Goldberg highlighted the case’s significance as the “first criminal tax evasion prosecution centered solely on cryptocurrency.”
Following the conviction, Lucy Tran, who leads the IRS Criminal Investigation team, warned that despite popular belief in criminal circles, cryptocurrency transactions are not beyond the reach of law enforcement.
Tan remarked, “Ahlgren will serve time because he believed his cryptocurrency transactions were untraceable.”
The case, involving unreported Bitcoin sales worth approximately $4 million, underscores mounting regulatory efforts to address crypto-related tax evasion.
Similar Cases of Bitcoin Tax Evasion
The rise in crypto-related tax offenses has been a growing concern for regulators worldwide.
Earlier this year, Roger Ver, widely known as “Bitcoin Jesus,” was charged with avoiding over $48 million in taxes after selling $240 million worth of cryptocurrency.
Ver’s case was further complicated by his decision to renounce U.S. citizenship in 2014, which allegedly allowed him to bypass the “exit tax” requirement.
These developments are not isolated. In April, Guy Ficco, the Criminal Investigation Chief at the IRS, warned of the surge in cryptocurrency-related tax evasion cases. Ficco noted that crypto assets, often used in fraud and money laundering schemes, have long been part of IRS investigations.
However, the increased adoption of digital currencies has made the tax collection body’s oversight a higher priority.
