Even as the treasure hunter who found them has been sitting in jail for close to six years, the whereabouts of 500 gold coins from a historic shipwreck are still a mystery to authorities.
Tommy Thompson, a research scientist, discovered the gold rush-era S.S. Central America or “Ship of Gold” in 1988, CBS News reported. He has been held in contempt of court since Dec. 15, 2015, for refusing to disclose where the coins are, said the outlet. Part of Thompson’s punishment is a $1,000 daily fine.
According to court documents, Thompson founded the Columbus-America Discovery Group to find the S.S. Central America. Those documents said the ship sank 160 miles off the South Carolina coast during a hurricane in September 1857 with approximately 580 passengers aboard and gold that at the time was valued over $1 million.
Only 153 passengers survived the shipwreck and the gold went down with the ship. In the aftermath of the tragedy, people feared the loss would impact the U.S. financial situation, though much of the gold had been insured.
Since Thompson, now age 69, and the Columbus-America Discovery Group found the wreck he has been accused of cheating investors, who filed a lawsuit. Thompson was also called by federal order to reveal the whereabouts of the coins in 2012.
CBS News said gold discovered on the ship was sold to a gold marketing group in 2000 for about $50 million. However, 161 investors who paid Thompson $12.7 million to find the ship claim they never saw returns from the sale.
When he was ordered to appear in court in 2012, he fled with a longtime female companion to Florida, where he was eventually tracked down by U.S. Marshals and arrested in 2015. Thompson pleaded guilty in April 2015 for his failure to appear at the 2012 hearing and he was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay a $250,000 fine.
According to the Columbus Dispatch, artifacts recovered by Thompson went up for sale in 2018.
As he remains silent on the coins, Thompson’s criminal sentence has been delayed. Typically, jail time for contempt of court is limited to 18 months. However, a federal appeals court in 2019 said Thompson’s lack of cooperation with authorities violated conditions of a plea agreement.
“Your honor, I don't know if we’ve gone over this road before or not, but I don't know the whereabouts of the gold,” Thompson said last year in a video court appearance. “I feel like I don't have the keys to my freedom.”
Judge Algenon Marbley denied a request for release from Thompson last year. He was concerned about contracting COVID-19.
Technology issues resulted in Thompson’s most recent virtual hearing being cancelled. Marbley scheduled a new hearing on Jan. 7.
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