The US Department of Justice has launched its first criminal prosecution solely for cryptocurrency tax evasion, sentencing a man who failed to declare $3.7 million in Bitcoin earnings to two years in prison

According to Foresight News, the US Department of Justice has announced that a man in Austin, Texas has been sentenced to two years in prison for submitting a tax return falsely reporting the capital gains he earned from selling $3.7 million worth of Bitcoin. According to court documents and statements, between 2017 and 2019, Frank Richard Ahlgren III submitted false tax returns, underreporting or failing to declare Bitcoin sales transactions worth $4 million, in which he earned substantial profits. The regulatory authorities require all taxpayers to report any sales proceeds and gains or losses from the sale of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin on their tax returns. Lucy Tan, the acting special director of the Houston office of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI), stated that "this case marks the first criminal tax evasion prosecution solely targeting cryptocurrency." In addition to imprisonment, the man is also required to pay $1095031 in compensation to the United States.