Treasure hunter released from prison, but 500 gold coins remain missing

A erstwhile deep-sea treasure hunter who made 1 of the top shipwreck discoveries successful American past and spent the past decennary successful situation aft refusing to disclose the whereabouts of immoderate of its missing golden coins is present free, national records show.

Tommy Thompson, who successful 1988 located what was known arsenic the "Ship of Gold" disconnected the seashore of South Carolina, was released past Wednesday, according to Federal Bureau of Prisons records reviewed by The Associated Press.

Thompson, an Ohio-born probe scientist, was hailed arsenic a leader aft uncovering the S.S. Central America and its thousands of pounds of sunken treasure that sat astatine the bottommost of the Atlantic Ocean for much than 150 years.

The ship sank successful September 1857, on with 425 passengers and crewmembers and 30,000 pounds of national golden from the caller San Francisco Mint to make a reserve for banks successful the eastbound U.S. The vessel was located by Thompson and his squad much than 7,000 feet beneath the surface.

But successful the decades that followed, helium battled with investors who accused him of cheating them retired of millions and past spent years connected the tally arsenic a fugitive earlier being sent to prison implicit rebuffing tribunal orders portion contending helium didn't cognize what happened to 500 coins minted from the ship's gold.

In this November 1989 record photo, Tommy Thompson holds a $50 pioneer golden portion retrieved earlier successful 1989 from the wreck of the golden vessel SS Central America. AP Photo/The Columbus Dispatch, Lon Horwedel

The Central America was filled with a large haul from the California Gold Rush erstwhile it sank successful a hurricane successful 1857. Four 100 and twenty-five radical drowned, and thousands of pounds of golden were lost, contributing to an economical panic.

Investors who backed Thompson's task sued him successful 2005, saying they had yet to person immoderate wealth from the $50 cardinal merchantability of much than 500 golden bars and thousands of coins — conscionable portion of the ship's booty.

Thompson, who was surviving successful Florida, went into seclusion and past aboriginal became a fugitive erstwhile an Ohio national justice issued a warrant for his apprehension successful 2012 aft helium failed to amusement up successful court.

Three years later, authorities tracked Thompson to a Florida edifice wherever helium was surviving nether a fake name. The justice past held him successful contempt and sent Thompson to situation astatine the extremity of 2015 for refusing to reply questions astir the determination of missing coins.

Thompson, present 73, maintained that the coins — valued past astatine $2.5 cardinal — were turned implicit to a spot successful Belize and said the $50 cardinal from the merchantability of the archetypal batch of golden mostly went toward ineligible fees and slope loans.

He remained locked up adjacent though national instrumentality mostly limits jailhouse clip for contempt of tribunal to 18 months. A national appeals tribunal successful 2019 rejected Thompson's statement that the instrumentality applied to him, saying his refusal violated conditions of a plea agreement.

The pursuing year, Thompson appeared by video for different proceeding wherever U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley again asked whether helium was acceptable to code the whereabouts of the gold.

"Your honor, I don't cognize if we've gone implicit this roadworthy earlier oregon not, but I don't cognize the whereabouts of the gold," Thompson responded. "I consciousness similar I don't person the keys to my freedom."

Just implicit a twelvemonth ago, Marbley agreed to extremity Thompson's condemnation connected the civilian contempt charge, saying helium was nary longer convinced that keeping him successful situation would nutrient an answer. The justice past ordered Thompson to instantly commencement serving a two-year condemnation for skipping the 2012 tribunal hearing.

"People termination radical and get retired successful fractional the time"

Dwight Manley, a California coin trader who bought and sold astir the full fortune, said Monday that Thompson paid a dense terms implicit what helium described arsenic a concern dispute.

"Going to situation for 10 years implicit a concern quality is not America," Manley said. "People termination radical and get retired successful fractional the time."

Sentences successful civilian contempt cases are somewhat indefinite, but they shouldn't spell connected forever, said Ryan Scott, a University of Florida instrumentality prof who researches contempt instrumentality and worked to unafraid Thompson's release.

"It's precise antithetic to spell connected 10 years," Scott said.

Tommy Thompson, a erstwhile deep-sea treasure hunter, is seen successful an undated photograph provided by the Delaware County Sheriff's Office. Delaware County Sheriff's Office via AP

He said Thompson should person been freed years agone - since astatine slightest 2018, aft the tribunal dismissed the underlying lawsuit - calling it a "miscarriage of justness for this to person gone connected this long."

Treasure from the S.S. Central America has fetched millions of dollars implicit the years.

In 2022, 1 of the largest S.S. Central America ingots ever offered astatine auction, an 866.19-ounce find known arsenic a Justh & Hunter ingot, sold for $2.16 cardinal done Dallas-based Heritage Auctions.

In 2019, aggregate relics from the shipwreck hauled successful much than $11 cardinal astatine auction. In 2001, an 80-pound ingot was bought by a backstage collector for a grounds $8 million.

In:

• Shipwreck
• Florida