Texas Court Orders Bitcoin Investor to Surrender Wallets

Frank Richard Ahlgren III, an early Bitcoin investor, has been ordered by a Texas court to surrender access to his cryptocurrency wallets, which hold assets worth approximately $124 million, as part of a tax evasion case. Ahlgren, sentenced to two years in prison in December 2024, must provide private keys, seed phrases, and identify all devices storing his digital assets. The court has also restricted his associates from transferring or reducing the value of his holdings without approval, except for basic living expenses. Ahlgren's legal issues stem from underreporting capital gains and using Bitcoin mixers and multiple wallets to obscure transactions on tax returns between 2015 and 2019. He was found guilty of falsely reporting capital gains from Bitcoin sales totaling over $3.7 million and failing to disclose additional sales worth over $650,000. The case underscores the legal risks associated with cryptocurrency investments and the government's ability to enforce tax compliance in the crypto sphere.