Ohio treasure hunter released from jail, refused to reveal location of 500 gold coins

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WKRC) – A Ohio treasure hunter who was sent to prison for refusing to tell authorities and investors where he stashed $50 million worth of gold discovered in an 1857 shipwreck has been released from jail.

Thomas Thompson, now 73, was sent to prison in 2015 after he refused to tell a federal judge, his own lawyers, and his investors where he hid a collection of gold coins and bars he discovered on the shipwreck of the S.S. Central America, according to local outlet The Columbus Dispatch.

The S.S. Central America, colloquially known as the Ship of Gold, wrecked in 1857 during a hurricane while carrying over a dozen tons of gold found during the California Gold Rush, according to the Associated Press. Thompson initially discovered the wreck site in 1988 during an expedition funded by around 160 investors, many from the Ohio area, the Dispatch reported.

Along with the wreck itself, Thompson allegedly found over $100 million worth of gold coins and bars, the location of which he never shared with his investors. The investors filed a lawsuit against Thompson in 2005, claiming that he sold $50 million worth of the gold without paying them.

Thompson claimed that the coins were turned over a trust in Belize and that the $50 million he made in the first sale went toward legal fees and bank loans, and claimed that he did not know where the rest of the gold was, per AP.

In addition to his prison sentence, Thompson was reportedly ordered to pay a fine of $1,000 for every day he was imprisoned with an additional $3,335,000 fine and a $250,000 fine.