Christopher Kise Secures Deferred Prosecution for Roger Ver
A deferred prosecution accepted a $49.9 million payment and ended a 2024 tax indictment without prison time, Justice Department records show.
Overview
Christopher Kise negotiated a deferred prosecution agreement that allowed 46-year-old Roger Ver to avoid pleading guilty or serving prison time in exchange for a $49.9 million payment, Justice Department records show.
The resolution undercuts criminal tax enforcement after the administration reorganized the criminal tax division, with tax prosecutions falling by more than 25% and more than a third of the 80 experienced criminal tax prosecutors quitting, people familiar with the matter said.
Natalie Baldassarre, a Justice Department spokesperson, said in a DOJ press release that 'Roger Ver took full responsibility for his past misconduct and satisfied his obligations to the American public.'
Prosecutors indicted Ver in 2024, alleging he owned at least 130,664 bitcoin worth approximately $73.7 million at the time, moved roughly $240 million in bitcoin to personal accounts and evaded nearly $50 million in taxes, according to the indictment.
The agreement remains the only tax prosecution the administration has killed outright and has prompted other wealthy defendants to seek out so-called 'Friends of Trump,' lawyers and people familiar with the matter said.
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FAQ
Prosecutors alleged Ver owned at least 130,664 bitcoin worth $73.7 million, moved $240 million in bitcoin to personal accounts, and evaded nearly $50 million in taxes, including by providing false information to conceal holdings after renouncing U.S. citizenship in 2014.
Ver pays approximately $49.9 million in back taxes, admits to willful failure to report and pay taxes on his bitcoin, avoids pleading guilty or prison time, and the charges will be dropped if he complies with the terms.
Christopher Kise, a longtime Trump ally and former Florida solicitor general who defended Trump in legal matters, negotiated the deferred prosecution agreement as Ver's defense lawyer, leading to the resolution without prison time.
Ver hired Trump-connected lawyers like Christopher Kise and David Schoen, paid $600,000 to Roger Stone for lobbying to challenge tax provisions, and engaged Brian Ballard's lobbying firm to influence the outcome.
The deal aligns with the administration's rollback of crypto enforcement, including reorganizing the criminal tax division, a 25% drop in tax prosecutions, over a third of experienced prosecutors quitting, and this being the only tax prosecution outright killed.
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