A treasure hunter has spent 6 years in prison for refusing to disclose the whereabouts of 500 gold coins he discovered in a sunken ship.
This may sound like the plot of an 80s adventure film, but it is the real-life story of oceanographer Tommy Thompson.
Tommy Thompson has been incarcerated for 6 years as he refuses to reveal the location of the ancient gold coins, which has hindered the ongoing investigation.
Young treasure hunter Tommy Thompson
The strange story began in 1857. The ship SS Central America, known as the “Ship of Gold,” sank off the coast of South Carolina in 1857, resulting in the loss of 425 lives and 10 tons of gold that fell to the ocean floor.
By 1980, Tommy Thompson, an oceanographer, had convinced several friends, colleagues, and supporters to donate funds for him to dredge the ocean floor in search of treasure.
Tommy Thompson created an underwater robot named Nemo to assist in the treasure hunt. This endeavor attracted significant attention, leading a company to invest $12.7 million to fund the project.
The SS Central America shipwrecked in 1857.
With the funding, Tommy Thompson spent some of it to create a specialized ocean exploration outfit called Recovery Limited aimed at treasure hunting.
After a period of searching, Tommy Thompson and his team located the wreck of the SS Central America at a depth of about 2,400 meters. They also discovered the treasure, which contained a significant amount of gold, in 1988.
The treasure was estimated to be worth approximately $300 million, making it one of the largest treasures ever found in the United States. Most of the gold discovered was sold in 2000 for about $50 million.
A portion of gold found by Tommy Thompson’s team
However, among Tommy Thompson’s past supporters, two individuals did not receive any of the money he had promised them. These two decided to sue Tommy Thompson.
He and his assistant, Alison Antekeie, went into hiding in 2012 but were later apprehended at a Hilton hotel in West Boca Raton in 2015. In 2012, during a court hearing where Tommy Thompson was absent, he was sentenced to 2 years in prison and fined $250,000.
To this day, even though he has completed his prison term, the case is still unresolved, and Tommy Thompson remains incarcerated. This unusual situation is due to his refusal to disclose the location of approximately 500 gold coins, the remaining part of the treasure.
Speaking at a hearing in 2020, 69-year-old Tommy Thompson stated: “I do not remember the location of the remaining gold. I feel that I do not hold the key to my freedom.”
