A former deep - ocean hoarded wealth Orion and inquiry scientist remand for reject to break the fix of 500 missing gold coins may soon be released , after a judge cease the charge , submit he " no longer is convert that further incarceration is likely to coerce compliance . "
In 1857 , the SSCentral Americasank during a hurricane it met as it transported passengers from California to New York . Also on board the ship , garner it the nickname " Ship of Gold " , was a catch of an estimated21 tonnesof gold nuggets and coins from prospectors . To put how much gold that is in perspective , the haul was headed for propping up banks in New York . When it subside , it ended up impart to thefinancial panic of 1857 .
The ship was jolly tantalizing fortreasurehunters , but none found the drop off draw until over a century by and by , when a squad head by enquiry scientist Tommy Gregory Thompson tracked it down in 1988 , glance over the sea floor using asdic .
Some of the gold on board was minted to create500 coin , treasure at around $ 2.5 million , and it is the whereabouts of these coins that has landed Thompson in jail since 2015 . In 2012 , Thompson failed to appear before an Ohio auditory sense on the coin , but was finally found by US marshals in Florida in 2015 . In that year , he was handed a polite scorn complaint after refusing to co - function with authorities and reveal the coin ' location . On top of this , he has been incur a fine of $ 1,000 for every day of his incarceration , now totaling $ 3,335,000 , more than the estimated economic value of the pretermit coins , and faces a lawsuit from investors in the voyage to find the SSCentral America .
Contempt of court mission in the US are generally limited to 18 month , but in 2019 , a federal appeals court refused his appeal , stating that Thompson ’s refusal to reveal the location of thecoinsviolated the status of a supplication correspondence .
Now , having service 10 years in prison , a judge has ended the civil charge . However , that does n’t mean that Thompson is going to be justify just yet . Instead , the judge has order the 72 - year - previous to begin serving a 2 - year sentence on a touch criminal contempt direction , perAP News .
Thompson continues to keep the whereabouts of the atomic number 79 coin to himself , though he has previously claimed that they were given over to a trust in Belize , without giving further particular . He remains in pokey , though the judge in Ohio stated he is unconvinced that more fourth dimension in prison will make Thompson cooperate .
