United States of America v. Thomas G. Thompson

Columbus, Ohio, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with civil contempt.

This case originated as part of consolidated civil actions filed in 2005 and 2006 against Thompson and numerous other business-entity defendants. SeeCiv. R. 3 (Compl.), 2:06-CV-00292 (S.D. Ohio)1; Williamson v. Recovery Ltd. P’ship, 731 F.3d 608, 616–17 (6th Cir. 2013) (discussing the factual and procedural background of the civil case). The civil plaintiffs were a group of employees andone business hired by Thompson to assist him in locating a long-sunken ship and recovering the treasures it contained. Williamson, 731 F.3d at 616. Following the discovery of the ship and the removal of various items, including gold, the plaintiffs filed suit to recover some of the profits they contended they were owed. Id.During the course of that litigation, the district court entered a preliminary injunction instructing Thompson that “he shall not sell, encumber, transfer or diminish in value” any re-strike or commemorative gold coins he had in his possession. Civ. R. 738 at 1–2 (Page ID #13314–15). If the coins were not in Thompson’s possession, Thompson was instructed to “submit a declaration under oath describing in detail the parties to whom the coins were transferred, any consideration received or outstanding, the date of such transfer, and the names of the recipients.” Id.at 2 (Page ID #13315). The district court subsequently entered a temporary restraining order when Thompson transferred the coins to a third-party trust. SeeCiv. R. 770 at 1 (Page ID #13704). The order prohibited the trust “from disposing of, encumbering, transferring or diminishing in value in any way the 500 gold restrike coins.”

The Defendant was released from prison after serving a 10-year sentence for contempt of court for refusing to share the location of missing gold coins.