Roger Ver, the most prominent backer of the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) hard fork, has filed a motion to dismiss an indictment against him.
Asreported by U.Today, Ver was arrested in Spain earlier this year after failing to pay roughly $50 million in taxes to the IRS.
Despite trying to run away from Uncle Sam by renouncing his US citizenship, Ver was still supposed to pay an exit tax. However, Ver was trying to evade paying tens of millions of dollars worth of taxes by transferring ownership of his coins to other companies that he still controlled.
The Bitcoin Cash proponent also provided false information to his accountant, failing to disclose massive Bitcoin sales.
However, in his motion, Ver paints himself as a victim of government overreach, arguing that the indictment is actually "unconstitutional." The motion claims that the exit tax itself is a violation of the Sixteenth Amendment and the First Amendment's Due Process clause. Ver's lawyers say that the right to leave the country is "fundamental," and the exit tax infringes on his right to expatriate.
The motion further states that the government failed to articulate the taxes that were purportedly owed by the early Bitcoin adopter. Ver claims that there were ongoing discussions regarding a civil resolution of the matter prior to his arrest in Spain.
Ver could possibly face decades behind bars if he gets convicted of all charges.
The controversial entrepreneur already served 10 months behind bars in the early 2000s after selling explosives on eBay.
