Tommy Thompson, the US deep-sea salvager known for finding the 1857 wreck dubbed the “Ship of Gold,” was freed from prison this month after serving over 10 years.
Thompson, now 73, had been held in civil contempt for nearly a decade after refusing to reveal the location of roughly 500 gold coins linked to the recovery of treasure from the steamship Central America.
In 1988, Thompson led the expedition that located the Central America, which sank in a hurricane while carrying California Gold Rush bullion. The disaster claimed about 425 lives and caused a financial panic in the United States. Thompson’s Columbus-America Discovery Group then recovered large quantities of coins, bars and artefacts from the wreck site off South Carolina. The recovered treasure is estimated at more than US$100 million/~€86.9 million.
However, from that point, things did not progress smoothly for Thompson, and his legal battles began. More than 160 investors in the salvage operation sued Thompson in 2005, accusing him of withholding proceeds from roughly $50 million/~€43.4 million in gold sales.
In 2012, he failed to appear at an Ohio court, and a federal judge issued an arrest warrant. Thompson spent three years on the run before he was arrested by US marshals. He subsequently pleaded guilty to failing to appear and received a two-year prison sentence and a $250,000/~€217,200 fine.
At this point, the court was expecting him to disclose the coins’ whereabouts, but he did not. Thompson said he believed the coins were placed in a trust in Belize.
In December 2015, he was jailed for civil contempt by an Ohio district court. In addition, the court imposed a $1,000/~€869 daily fine to coerce compliance. His refusal to cooperate with the court kept him confined far beyond the usual 18-month civil contempt limit. His fines grew to a massive $3.3 million/~€2.9 million.
Thompson won a reprieve in February 2025, when a district judge ruled that continued confinement was no longer likely to coerce disclosure, ending the civil contempt sentence. He then served the remaining two-year criminal sentence and was released on March 4th. Since his release, he has not made any public statements.
Years before his release, National Geographic made a documentary about Thompson. Check out the trailer below.
