Elon Musk used his “First Buddy” privileges to sit with Donald Trump in the Oval Office as the president pardoned Ross Ulbricht on Tuesday, while revealing that a man known as “Bitcoin Jesus” could be next.
Ulbricht, 40, was arrested in 2013 because the shady website he founded facilitated the sale of illegal drugs using cryptocurrency.
“I was honored to be in the Oval Office tonight when @POTUS signed this,” the Tesla founder wrote on X in response to the pardon.
In early 2015, Ulbricht was sentenced to two life sentences plus 40 years for drug trafficking, conspiracy to launder money and computer hacking, operating under the pseudonym “Dread Pirate Roberts.”
Trump unconditionally pardoned Ulbricht, the creator of the infamous dark webpage Silk Road, in praise of the “Libertarian Movement” while heavily criticizing the “scum” who persecuted him.
Although the president has made it clear that his friend will “never be president,” Musk — the chairman of the Department of Government Efficiency — made it clear that he was in the room with Trump when he put pen to paper on the pardon.
Musk appears to be trying to use his influence on Trump while he is in the room, as Ian Miles Cheong replied to him asking for leniency for the so-called 'Bitcoin Jesus' Roger Ver.
'It's Roger Ver's turn. End the lawsuits,” Cheong wrote to Musk.
Elon Musk used his 'First Buddy' privileges to sit with Donald Trump as he pardoned Ross Ulbricht on Tuesday, while revealing he is pressuring Trump to free a man known as 'Bitcoin Jesus'.
Ross Ulbricht, 40, was arrested in 2013 because the shady website he founded facilitated the sale of illegal drugs using cryptocurrency
“That's up to the president, but I asked if this was possible,” Musk responded.
Ver, who reportedly raked in millions of dollars from selling his stash of Bitcoin, was arrested in Spain last April on charges of fraud and capital gains tax evasion.
The Justice Department's indictment alleges that California-born Ver failed to report the capital gains he made from selling tens of thousands of bitcoins in 2017, which reportedly netted him $240 million and lost the U.S. Treasury $48 million in taxpayer money .
Ver, 45, calls himself “Bitcoin Jesus,” and his high-flying social media pages make it clear why he gave himself the self-righteous nickname.
He left Silicon Valley for the Caribbean island of St. Kitts and Nevis and is said to have obtained citizenship there on February 4, 2014. Shortly afterwards, Ver is said to have renounced his citizenship in a process called expatriation.
Expatriated individuals, even though they are no longer citizens, are required by U.S. law to file tax returns reporting capital gains from the sale of “global assets,” including the sale of bitcoins, and to report the fair market value of any and all property still in one's possession.
The indictment states that if Ver was expatriated, he would be required to pay a so-called “exit tax” on any capital gains.
According to the indictment, on February 4, 2014, the day he was expatriated, Ver and his companies owned 131,000 bitcoins – each worth $871 at the time.
Musk appears to be trying to use his influence on Trump while in the room, as Ian Miles Cheong replied to him asking for another pardon for the so-called 'Bitcoin Jesus' Roger Ver
His companies are said to own 73,000 bitcoins, about 55 percent of his total holdings.
Where Ver started to go wrong, according to the indictment, was when he hired a law firm and an appraiser to help with tax issues related to renouncing his U.S. citizenship.
Ver allegedly “provided false or misleading information to the law firm and the appraiser, thereby concealing the true number of bitcoins he and his companies owned.”
The indictment alleges that, based on what Ver told them, the company filed false tax returns, understating the two companies' bitcoin holdings, while also failing to report that Ver personally owned bitcoin.
Three years later, the indictment accuses Ver of selling tens of thousands of bitcoins from his companies on crypto exchanges, netting him $240 million in cash.
“Even though Ver was not a U.S. citizen at the time, he was still legally required to file returns with the IRS and pay taxes on certain distributions, such as dividends from MemoryDealers and Agilestar, which were U.S. corporations,” the indictment said.
After the alleged sale, the indictment accuses Ver of hiding it from his accountant, which led to his 2017 income tax return not reporting the massive bitcoin sale.
According to the indictment, Ver owes the IRS $48 million.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gestures during a meeting on the inauguration day of US President Donald Trump's second presidential term
Ver, 45, calls himself “Bitcoin Jesus,” and his high-flying social media pages make it clear why he gave himself the self-righteous nickname
If Ver is convicted on all eight charges against him, he faces a maximum prison sentence of just under 80 years.
While Trump confirmed that Musk will not have an office in the West Wing, there has been a lot of talk about the Tesla CEO's influence on the president.
Musk — who has been a steadfast supporter of Trump since July — has even participated in high-stakes rallies at Mar-a-Lago, while reportedly “renting” a $2,000-a-night cottage just outside the main residence.
In December, Trump took a swipe at Musk after Democrats and Trump critics began derisively calling his close ally “President Musk.”
During his more than hour-long speech at conservative Turning Point USA's annual AmericaFest conference in Phoenix, Trump said that even if Musk wanted to become president, he couldn't.
“No, he's not going to be president, I can tell you that,” Trump told the crowd.
'And I'm safe. Do you know why he can't be? He was not born in this country,” he continued.
While he tries to influence Trump to pardon Ver, Musk has overseen Ulbricht's pardon with great pride for now.
In December, Trump took a swipe at Musk after Democrats and Trump critics began derisively calling his close ally “President Musk.”
In early 2015, he was sentenced to two life sentences plus 40 years for drug trafficking, conspiracy to commit money laundering and computer hacking, operating under the pseudonym 'Dread Pirate Roberts'.
“Make no mistake: Ulbricht was a drug dealer and criminal profiteer who exploited people's addictions and contributed to the deaths of at least six young people,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said after Ulbricht's sentencing.
During his campaign, Trump promised to commute Ulbricht's sentence “on day one” if he was re-elected, and he received enormous support from the convicted criminal's loved ones and fans.
And while Ulbricht's clemency was not among the many tasks Trump completed on Monday, the president announced Tuesday evening that Ulbricht had been granted a “full and unconditional pardon.”
“I just called the mother of Ross William Ulbright (sic) to let her know that in honor of her and the Libertarian Movement, which supported me so strongly, it was my pleasure to just issue a full and unconditional pardon for her son have signed. Ross,” Trump revealed on TruthSocial.
“The scum who worked to convict him were the same lunatics involved in today's weaponization of the government against me.
'He received two life sentences, plus 40 years. Ridiculous!'
