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Secret treasure ‘Golden train’: Why should the treasure hunter go to jail?

Treasure secret Golden train: Why should the treasure hunter go to jail?  - Photo 1.

Image of treasure recovered from a 165-year-old ship on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean – Photo: USA TODAY

According to USA Today, mEach item of the Golden Ship is worth from a few hundred thousand dollars to more than 1 million dollars. From May to September, the artifacts will be on display in at least six states: California, Nevada, Colorado, Illinois, Connecticut and New York, before being auctioned off in the fall.

Meanwhile, ohng Tommy Thompson, a deep-sea explorer who found the wreck of the Golden Ship in 1988, is still in prison and can only get out of federal prison in Michigan if he reveals the whereabouts of 500 gold coins. (worth about 2 million USD).

Turning 70, Mr. Thompson is still in court custody and fined $1,000 a day for not answering questions about 500 gold coins. To date, Mr. Thompson has been fined $2 million and there is no indication that he is about to be released.

“I feel like I don’t have the key to my freedom,” Mr Thompson said at a 2020 hearing, adding that he had told the government everything he knew.

Treasure secret Golden train: Why should the treasure hunter go to jail?  - Photo 2.

Gold coins on board SS Central America – Photo: AP

Mr. Thompson is one of the most successful treasure hunters in America. In 1988, he and his team discovered the SS Central America, also known as the Golden Ship.

This ship anchored from the port of Colon of Panama September 3, 1857, heading to New York City. At that time, the gold rush in the US was at its peak, causing many passengers to carry in their luggage many gold bars to bring home.

The total luggage of passengers traveling by train contains no less than 3 tons of gold. There is information that the ship secretly carried 15 tons of gold to provide financial resources for the army. All the confidential documents about these goods were destroyed in a fire because of the earthquake in the city of San Francisco.

The Golden Ship sank in 1857 off the coast of Carolina. 425 people were killed and the debris was still 2,134 meters below sea level.

Shortly after Mr. Thompson announced his important discovery of the Golden Ship, a group of insurance companies scrambled for the treasures with no proof they had insured them.

A “battle” in court ensued.

In 2000, Mr. Thompson’s company sold 532 gold bars and thousands of coins to the California Gold Marketing Group for about $50 million. Most of that money was spent on legal fees and bank loans, Mr. Thompson said.

Meanwhile, the group of investors who paid millions of dollars to finance Mr. Thompson’s dream of finding the ship was never profitable. In 2005, they sued Mr. Thompson, now living in seclusion in Florida. In 2012, he became a fugitive after an Ohio judge ordered his arrest.

He was arrested in 2015 with more than $425,000 in cash confiscated.

Treasure secret Golden train: Why should the treasure hunter go to jail?  - Photo 3.

Tommy Thompson in court in Columbus, Ohio in 2018 – Photo: AP

Mr. Thompson was unable to answer questions about the fate of 500 gold coins on board at many court hearings. He said he could not remember where the coins had drifted and insisted that it could not be traced. He has filed many petitions for parole.

No further hearing has been scheduled and Mr. Thompson’s most recent application was for more time to hire an attorney.

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