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Treasure Hunter Jailed For Refusing To Reveal Where 500 Gold Coins Are

Treasure Hunter Jailed For Refusing To Reveal Where 500 Gold Coins Are

He discovered the ancient lost treasure of the SS Central America in the 1980s

A treasure hunter has spent six years in jail for refusing to reveal the whereabouts of 500 missing gold coins that were found in an ancient shipwreck. 

While this might sound like the plot to an 80s adventure movie, it’s actually real life for research scientist Tommy Thompson who has been held in contempt of court because he refuses to say where the missing coins are. 

Thompson claims he doesn’t know and therefore can’t give up the information and has a hearing to plead his case next month, the Independent reports.

But to truly understand this bizarre story, we’ll need to go back to when it started - 1857 when the SS Central America, dubbed The Ship of Gold, sank 200 miles off the coast of South Carolina. Four-hundred-and-twenty-five people died, while ten tons of gold sunk to the bottom of the ocean. 

The SS Central America.
Alamy

Fast forward a few hundred years to the 1980s and Thompson, an oceanic engineer, convinced backers to give him millions of dollars to dredge the seafloor for the booty.  

Thompson showed off an underwater robot he created, named Nemo, that was impressive enough to tempt a whopping 161 people and companies to chip in $12.7 million to fund his plans, Fort Lauderdale Illustrated reported in 2019.

With the cash he raked in, he set up an ocean exploration outfit named Recovery Limited, which would aim to find the lost treasure. 

According to the report, ‘surprisingly quickly, they literally struck gold’ finding the wreckage of SS Central America 8,000 feet deep. 

Police handout
Police handout

The treasure haul, thought to be one of the biggest ever in the US, would be worth around $300 million today. Not too shabby. 

Most of the gold that was found was sold in 2000 for around $50 million. 

But those 161 backers, who invested their hard earned cash back in the 1980s, never saw any proceeds - prompting two of them to sue Thompson. 

Some of the gold found by Thompson's team.
Alamy

Thompson and his assistant Alison Antekeier went on the run in 2012 and a warrant was issued for their arrest after Thompson failed to show up for a hearing related to the lawsuits filed against him. 

The pair remained on the run until 2015 when they were caught living at a Hilton hotel in West Boca Raton, which they rented under a fake name. 

Thompson pleaded guilty for failing to appear at the 2012 hearing and was given a two year jail sentence and ordered to pay $250,000. 

However, although his sentence is now complete, Thompson remains in jail as he refuses to tell officials where the 500 missing gold coins are. Alongside his lengthy jail stint, he’s racking up 1,000 a day in fines. Ouch.

Meanwhile, Thompson is adamant that the remainder of any treasure he found was given away to an entity in Belize. 

Some gold coins found in the wreckage.
Alamy

Speaking at a hearing last year, Thompson said: “Your honour, I don’t know if we’ve gone over this road before or not, but I don’t know the whereabouts of the gold. 

“I feel like I don’t have the keys to my freedom.”

Thompson's next hearing is scheduled for 7 January 2022, but there's no guarantees he'll be released.


Featured Image Credit: Lon Horwedel/Columbus Dispatch/TNS

Topics: US News, Crime