Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) is alleging that Pantera Capital founder Dan Morehead is refusing to cooperate with an investigation over whether he “improperly avoided more than $100 million in U.S. taxes by misrepresenting his residency status and abusing a Puerto Rican tax program,” a new letter from the senator published on the United States Senate Committee on Finance on Wednesday reveals.
According to the letter, Wyden claims that Morehead has not responded to attempts made by committee investigators since early January, despite an initial response from his attorneys that indicated his willingness to cooperate with the investigation.
“While your attorneys initially suggested to my staff you were willing to cooperate with this inquiry, they have all but disappeared, heightening my concerns that you may have improperly avoided over $100 million dollars in federal taxes on capital gains that accrued while you still lived in San Francisco,” Wyden writes.
The U.S. lawmaker alleges that his staff received information suggesting that Pantera Capital sold “a large position” that generated “capital gains in excess of $1 billion” shortly after the crypto executive moved to Puerto Rico (PR) and obtained a PR tax grant.
“It is my understanding your share of these gains … was hundreds of millions of dollars,” Wyden says. “It is also my understanding that you treated the entire [gain] as exempt from U.S. tax, even though the lion’s share of these gains accrued while you still resided in California.”
The Democratic senator also claims that Morehead was advised on the transaction by Jeffrey Rubinger, who allegedly wrongfully advised another client named Suresh Gajwani that “built-in gains accrued prior to becoming a resident of Puerto Rico could be exempt from federal taxes.”
Wyden is seeking a response from Morehead by October 15, though it is unclear if and when the blockchain technology tycoon will answer.
