COLUMBUS, Ohio – Fugitive deep-sea treasure hunter Tommy Thompson and his female companion pleaded guilty to contempt of court charges filed after Thompson refused to testify about gold he discovered in a historic shipwreck.
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Thompson, 62, and Alison Antekeier, 47, pleaded guilty to criminal charges of disobedience or resistance of the court before U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley in Columbus Wednesday, according to a joint statement from Carter Stewart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Peter Tobin, U.S. Marshal for the Southern District.
Thompson went missing in 2012 amid demands he appear in court. He and Antekeier were arrested in January in Florida.
Thompson’s attorney Ben Dusing said in a statement he hopes the plea agreement is a first step toward ending a decade of lawsuits.
The deal will require Thompson to turn over about $425,000 and requires him to cooperate in the civil case.
According to court documents a bench warrant was issued for Thompson’s arrest after he “disobeyed and resisted a lawful order” of a federal court to personally appear at an August 2012 hearing related to a civil case. The case stems from accusations that he cheated investors following his 1988 discovery of the S.S. Central America, known as the Ship of Gold. The ship sank in a hurricane off South Carolina in 1857 with thousands of pounds of gold aboard.
Antekeier failed to appear in court to testify in the lawsuit in November 2012 and an arrest warrant was issued for her as well, according to the court.
U.S. Marshals found and arrested Thompson and Antekeier on January 27 in Boca Raton, Fla., where authorities say they were living in a Hilton hotel room under fake names and paying with cash.