Treasure Hunter Thomas Thompson was finally released from prison after serving a 10-year sentence for refusing to tell a judge the location of missing gold coins.
Deep-sea treasure hunter Thomas “Tommy” Thompson was released from federal prison on March 4, 2026, after spending over a decade behind bars.
Thompson, now 73, had been incarcerated since 2015 primarily for civil contempt after refusing to disclose the location of 500 missing gold coins recovered from the 1857 shipwreck of the S.S. Central America, also known as the “Ship of Gold”.
Key Details of His Release
Timeline: His release followed the completion of a separate two-year criminal sentence for failing to appear in court in 2012. A federal judge had previously ended his civil contempt sentence in early 2025, concluding that further jail time would not compel him to cooperate.
Current Status: Thompson is now under one year of supervised release and faces $250,000 in fines. He also remains liable for approximately $3.3 million in accumulated daily fines for his refusal to cooperate during the civil case.
Missing Gold: Despite his release, the whereabouts of the 500 gold coins—valued at roughly $2.5 million—remain a mystery. Thompson continues to maintain that he does not know where they are, sometimes citing memory issues or claiming they were transferred to a trust in Belize.
Background of the Case
In 1988, Thompson led an expedition that discovered the S.S. Central America and its massive cargo of California Gold Rush-era treasure. The discovery turned into a legal quagmire when 160 investors who funded the search sued him, alleging he sold gold without compensating them. After evading authorities for years, he was captured by U.S. Marshals in a Florida hotel in 2015.