Criminal Tax Cases Highlight Increasing Role of Digital Assets in Legal Process

Recent criminal tax cases highlight the growing involvement of digital assets in the legal process for criminal tax enforcement. Roger Keith Ver, also known as "Bitcoin Jesus," was indicted on fraud and tax-related charges for allegedly selling tens of thousands of bitcoins without reporting or paying taxes, causing a $48 million loss to the IRS. Another individual, a Maryland attorney, was indicted on 22 charges, including tax evasion and making false statements to mortgage lenders, and allegedly conducted 280 cryptocurrency transactions without reporting them on his tax return. The constitutionality of a tax law on cryptocurrency is being questioned by Ver, while the IRS has moved the question about cryptocurrency transactions to a more prominent spot in the 2020 version of the Form 1040, which may impact criminal tax cases.