An early Bitcoin investor in the United States has been sentenced for tax fraud and is required to hand over private keys to encrypted assets

According to Bloomberg, a federal court in Austin, Texas, recently ruled that early Bitcoin investor Frank Richard Ahlgren III must disclose the password and related storage devices of his cryptocurrency account in order for US prosecutors to unlock digital assets worth approximately $124 million. Ahlgren has been sentenced to two years in prison for tax fraud related to cryptocurrency sales and is required to pay $1 million in compensation to the government. Ahlgren is the first American to be convicted of a tax offence related to the sale of cryptocurrency. He admitted to underreporting capital gains when selling $3.7 million worth of Bitcoin in 2017, resulting in tax losses. Ahlgren pleaded guilty on September 12th last year and was sentenced on December 12th. The prosecutor claimed that he used a portion of the proceeds to purchase a property in Park City, Utah. In 2020, Ahlgren transferred at least 1287 bitcoins through a "coin mixing" service, which are currently worth over $124 million. The prosecutor pointed out that Ahlgren's property "cannot be seized through ordinary physical means", and therefore requested the court to order him to surrender the private key to prevent the transfer of assets. Judge Robert Pitman ruled that Ahlgren may not transfer or sell any property without court approval, but it can be used for "normal monthly living expenses".