Tommy Thompson, the explorer responsible for one of the largest shipwreck treasure recoveries in history, has been released after spending more than a decade behind bars.
In 1988, Thompson led an expedition that discovered the SS Central America, a steamship that sank in 1857 while carrying a massive shipment of California Gold Rush treasure. His team recovered thousands of gold bars and coins from the wreck, which lay over 7,000 feet underwater off the coast of South Carolina.
Problems began after the recovered treasure was sold for about $50 million. Investors who financed the expedition accused Thompson of hiding profits that were supposed to be shared with them.
After years of legal disputes, Thompson disappeared in 2012 and lived as a fugitive until he was arrested in Florida in 2015.
At the time, he was jailed for civil contempt after refusing to reveal the location of around 500 missing gold coins from the SS Central America, often called the “Ship of Gold.” Those coins, believed to be worth tens of millions of dollars today, have never been recovered.
A federal judge has now ended his indefinite contempt sentence, ruling that continued imprisonment would no longer pressure Thompson into revealing where the remaining treasure is hidden.
Thompson has long claimed the coins were placed in a trust in Belize, while the original investors argue they received little from the discovery after years of legal costs.
Interest in shipwreck treasure continues to grow. In 2025, explorers discovered a pirate ship from 1721 believed to contain about $138 million worth of treasure.