A treasure hunter has been jailed for 5 years because they refused to give up the location of 500 missing gold coins.

The gold coins are worth anywhere from $2 Million to $4 Million USD.

Former deep-sea scavenger Tommy Thompson has been held for an unusually long stretch for a charge of the content of court said a report by DailyStar.

There is an 18 month limit in incarcerations, but it was ignored because the researcher did not give up the location of the treasure that he had found.

The case dates back to 1857 when the S.S Central America sank off South Carolina.

The boat was carrying thousands of pounds of gold on it.

Thompson found the wreck of the Ship of Gold in 1988.

He also found the gold.

The discovery of the shipwreck led to an economic panic, however, Thompson did not reveal where the haul was found.

The government of the USA said that the treasure is worth around $2-$4 Million USD.

161 investors paid $12.7 million for him to find the wreck. However, no process was seen and they ended up suing him.

In 2012, Thompson was told to appear in court in order to disclose the coins, but he refused to do such.

The treasure hunter went to Florida and lived with his longtime female partner.

He was arrested in 2015 after being tracked down by the United States of America.

The man pleaded guilty for his failure to appear in court and was sentenced to 2 years in prison.

He was also given a $250,000 USD fine.

In the latest hearing, the deep sea diver told a judge that they did not know where the coins actually were.

The man said:

I feel like I don’t have the keys to my freedom.

The man is now suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome that has created problems with their short-term memory.

The government is repeatedly saying that Thompson is refusing to cooperate and that there is no connection between his health and the ability of him to tell them where the golden coins are.

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