Bitcoin advocate Roger Ver, commonly referred to as “Bitcoin Jesus,” has reportedly struck a preliminary agreement with the US Department of Justice that could prevent him from serving jail time.

According to a report by the New York Times from Thursday, Ver’s attorneys have negotiated an arrangement requiring him to pay $48 million in back taxes on his cryptocurrency assets. In April 2024, the Justice Department charged Ver with mail fraud and tax evasion, trying to extradite him from Spain for prosecution.

The New York Times also revealed that Ver is connected to figures associated with President Donald Trump, having employed lawyers who previously worked for him, and made a payment of $600,000 to political consultant Roger Stone to advocate for amendments to US tax regulations.

This agreement appears to be aligned with a shift in the regulatory and legal environment under the Trump administration, which suggested a more lenient approach towards cases relating to digital currencies. At the time of publishing, no formal documentation of the tentative agreement had been recorded in the public court files regarding Ver’s case in California.

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Related: Roger Ver’s Trump pardon plea: ‘Lawfare’ victim or tax evader?

The initial charges state that Ver misrepresented his cryptocurrency assets on tax forms. Along with two companies, MemoryDealers and Agilestar, he allegedly held approximately 131,000 BTC in 2014. The DOJ has indicated that he tried to avoid tax obligations by renouncing his US citizenship and obtaining citizenship in St. Kitts and Nevis.

“Even though Ver was not then a US citizen, he was still legally required to report to the IRS and pay tax on certain distributions,” stated the Justice Department in April 2024.

Ver was arrested in Spain following the US indictment in 2024 but was able to secure bail shortly thereafter. Since then, his legal representatives have been contesting the attempts by Spanish authorities to extradite him, as well as fighting the charges against him in US federal court.

Pursuing a Pardon

Following Trump’s reelection in 2024, speculation arose among cryptocurrency enthusiasts that he might offer a pardon to Ver. Ross Ulbricht, creator of the Silk Road platform and one of the first to receive a pardon from Trump, has also called for leniency in Ver’s situation, saying, “No one should spend the rest of their life in prison over taxes. Let him pay the tax (if any) and be done with it.”

As of Thursday, Ver’s social media profile was directing users to a petition urging Trump to issue him a pardon. His official website also contained an open letter appealing to the US government for an end to the prosecution, characterizing it as a “retaliatory action” against his promotion of Bitcoin.