A treasure hunter looking for buried Civil War gold has accused the FBI of a major coverup after the agency reportedly got away with $500 million worth of gold.
A report shows that midway up a mountain in the western part of Pennsylvania, Civil War treasure was buried, and Dennis Parada thinks he found it before the FBI dug it up in the dark.
According to the prospector, he notified the proper authorities after ground tests indicated that the Dents Run location was rich in gold. As a result, the FBI commissioned its testing, indicating that potentially massive quantities of the metal were under the surface.
The FBI asserts that excavations conducted in 2018 yielded no results.
However, Parada claims that the federal government stole the precious metal during a covert midnight excavation, robbing him of a substantial finder’s fee.
Former reporter Warren Getler says he came to the inescapable belief that the Federal Bureau of Investigation stole the treasure under the cloak of darkness.
According to Parada, this smelled like a coverup. Together with his son Kem, he runs the treasure hunting company Finders Keepers, and last year they filed suit against the FBI to get a FOIA request enforced. They claim the FBI hid a night dig by withholding paperwork and doctoring images.
A report shows that Special Agent Jacob Archer detailed his interview with the three hunters and his conclusions in a 33-page affidavit filed in federal court in Philadelphia.
Because he feared the state of Pennsylvania would make an unjust claim on it, he applied for and was granted a warrant to take gold belonging to the United States Treasury.
The FBI claims it sent over 50 officers and dug down over a dozen feet but found nothing. It was reported that nothing was found as the dig ended on March 14.
That didn’t sit well with the Parada and Getler, who claim they were forced to spend much of the dig inside Kem Parada’s truck.
The Paradas are now awaiting a judge’s ruling on whether or not the FBI is required to provide more information.
