NFT Tax Dodge: How One Man’s $12M CryptoPunk Fiasco Landed Him in Hot Water

Ah, the American Dream: make millions selling digital doodads, forget to tell the IRS, and end up with a one-way ticket to the slammer. 🚔 That’s the story of Waylon Wilcox, a Pennsylvania man who decided that paying taxes was for suckers and CryptoPunk NFTs were his golden ticket. Spoiler alert: it didn’t end well.

Wilcox, a modern-day Robin Hood (if Robin Hood stole from the government and gave to himself), made a cool $12.3 million selling 97 CryptoPunks in 2021 and 2022. But here’s the kicker: he conveniently “forgot” to mention this little windfall on his tax returns. Whoops! 🤷‍♂️

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Wilcox underreported his income by a staggering $8.5 million in 2021, saving himself a tidy $2.2 million in taxes. Not content with one act of fiscal tomfoolery, he repeated the trick in 2022, shaving another $4.6 million off his income and $1 million off his tax bill. Bold move, Waylon. Bold move.

Yury Kruty, Special Agent in Charge of the IRS’s Philadelphia Field Office, had this to say: “We’re all about unraveling complex financial schemes involving virtual currencies and NFTs. Because, you know, nothing says ‘justice’ like chasing down a guy who thought he could outsmart the system with pixelated art.” 🎨

Last week, Wilcox pled guilty to two counts of filing false tax returns. His reward? A potential six-year stay in a federal penitentiary. Let’s hope the Wi-Fi is good—he might need it to keep up with the latest NFT trends. 📱

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2025-04-15 20:01