A Sad Event for the Country’s Criminal Tax Enforcement System (10/15/25)

I today write on what to me is a very sad story for our country. Roger Ver, a crypto mogul and tax evader (by his admission in the story I tell here), just bought his way out of charged tax crimes by the amounts (tax, penalties, and interest) he already owed the Government for the charged years. (There is no indication that he will pay anything for uncharged years for which the civil statute of limitations would be open if civil fraud was involved (which he did not admit under the plea agreement), nor is there any agreement that he will be required to cooperate in the determination and payment of tax liability for any other years). In other words, he bought his way out of a criminal indictment and prosecution by paying what he admitted he owed. Worse, there is more to the story as I tell below.

The key documents are

• The plea agreement, here.
• The DOJ Press Release, here, which says in part:

“We are pleased that Mr. Ver has taken responsibility for his past misconduct and satisfied his obligations to the American public. This resolution sends a clear message: whether you deal in dollars or digital assets, you must file accurate tax returns and pay what you owe,” said Associate Deputy Attorney General Ketan D. Bhirud. 

“Mr. Ver is accepting responsibility for his actions and has agreed to pay a substantial penalty,” said Acting United States Attorney Bill Essayli of the Central District of California. “Every person, whether you’re a millionaire or not, is required by law to pay taxes and we will not hesitate to hold anyone accountable.” 

“Today’s resolution demonstrates that there are consequences for those who intentionally conceal their assets and evade their tax obligations,” said Kareem Carter, Executive Special Agent in Charge. “No matter how sophisticated the technology or the asset, IRS-CI will continue to follow the money, ensure compliance, and protect the integrity of our tax system.”

• The NYT article here that offers some key background including the following key paragraphs:

The case is poised to become the latest example of how the Trump administration has systematically dismantled a yearslong government crackdown on the crypto industry, a sector rife with fraud, scams and theft. 

Like other beneficiaries of the rollback, Mr. Ver sought to curry favor with President Trump by linking his case to the president’s grievances about the weaponization of the justice system.

This year, Mr. Ver paid $600,000 to Roger Stone, a longtime associate of Mr. Trump, to try to abolish the tax provisions at the heart of the case. And the crypto investor hired David Schoen, a lawyer who represented Mr. Trump during his second impeachment trial. Lobbying filings show that Mr. Ver also hired Christopher M. Kise, a lawyer who defended Mr. Trump against various criminal and civil charges, as well as the lobbying firm run by Brian Ballard, a major Trump fund-raiser.

I am not so much concerned about the effect on crypto criminal enforcement, because that is not my “beat,” so to speak. I am concerned about the message it sends to tax cheats. By acting while the Trump administration is in power and, by engaging friends of DJT, one can get out of jail free by paying the taxes, penalties, and interest otherwise owed.

How about charged tax cheats who cannot pay the costs of engaging friends of DJT? They will have to just suffer criminal prosecutions, incarcerations if convicted, and payment of the tax, penalties, and interest they owed.

Of course, this is in line with Trump’s pardon of the January 6 convicted defendants. Actually, the January 6 convicted defendants now pardoned may get off better because they are being forgiven or returned the restitution ordered as a result of their convictions. E.g.,. Kyle Cheney, Judge reluctantly authorizes refund of restitution paid by Jan. 6 rioter (Politico 8/28/25), here. On a timely related topic, the Supreme Court just held argument yesterday on whether restitution under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act is a criminal punishment or, as the name restitution implies, compensatory to victims (the IRS (standing for all taxpayers in the U.S.) is a victim in tax crimes). See Ronald Mann, Justices debate whether restitution imposed on convicts is criminal, civil, or perhaps a little of both (SCOTUSBlog 10/15/25), here. There are technical arguments in the case, but the general concept of restitution is to compensate victims for the harm resulting from the criminal conduct.

In any event, why couldn’t Hunter Biden be released from his tax charges by paying the amounts due rather than having to rely upon a pardon? And, on the subject of Hunter Biden, in my mind he was just a tax cheat at worst (from DJT's claims); he was not a person who committed acts as morally repulsive to our country's fabric as the January 6 defendants who Trump praises and has pardoned.

And, at least while the Trump administration is in, how do attorneys answer their clients’ inevitable question as to whether the criminal tax investigation and/or prosecution can go away simply by paying the tax, penalties, and interest? (Every person I have represented in a criminal tax investigation has asked that question.) The answer seems to be to engage the right persons that Trump likes, pay them lots of money (premiums for their relationship with Trump and his minions), and avoid the criminal punishment consequences of their criminal conduct. Shameful.

Sure, Ver admitted to being a tax cheat (without the criminal and related consequences of being a tax cheat). But, in the hidden crypto eco-sphere that is likely to make him a hero and encourage others in the eco-sphere to commit tax crimes and commit other crimes that crypto's anonymity will help avoid discovery.

One question I have is whether this "deal" could have been obtained when the DOJ Tax Division were still in place? The plea agreement is signed by Mathew J. Kluge formerly with the Tax Division but is not identified as with the Tax Division on the plea agreement or on the DOJ Public Announcement of the deal.