A non-fungible token (NFT) trader could face up to six years in prison after admitting he underreported nearly $13 million in income from selling CryptoPunks.
According to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania on April 11, Waylon Wilcox, 45, pleaded guilty to two counts of filing false individual income tax returns.
Federal prosecutors said Wilcox failed to report more than $8.5 million in income on his 2021 tax return. This resulted in an unpaid tax bill of about $2.18 million.
He also underreported nearly $4.6 million in income on his 2022 tax return, lowering his tax due by roughly $1.09 million.
Wilcox earned most of this money by buying and selling 97 CryptoPunks NFTs over two years. In 2021, he sold about 62 NFTs, earning around $7.4 million. In 2022, he sold 35 more for approximately $4.9 million.
Authorities said Wilcox falsely claimed on his 2021 tax return that he had no financial activity involving virtual currency. The form asked, “At any time in 2021, did you receive, sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of financial interest in any virtual currency?” He marked “no.” He gave the same false answer in 2022.
Wilcox entered his guilty plea in Cumberland County on October 10, 2023. Under federal law, the maximum sentence for the offenses includes up to six years in prison, supervised release, and a fine.
