Disgraced treasure hunter who found famed SS Central America shipwreck and sold off its booty called to answer for 500 missing gold coins

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A group of investors who financed treasure hunter Tommy Thompson's search for an historic shipwreck want to know what happened to 500 missing gold coins pulled from the submerged vessel.

Thompson vanished three years ago amid demands that he appear in court. He and his longtime girlfriend were arrested in January at a hotel where he was living near Boca Raton, Florida.

Thompson has faced repeated accusations of cheating investors since he discovered the SS Central America, known as the Ship of Gold, in 1988.  

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Treasure hunter: Investors want deep-sea treasure hunter Tommy Thompson (pictured in two different mugshots) to tell them what happened to 500 gold coins pulled from a historic shipwreck  

Disaster: A painting shows the SS Central America, which sank in a massive storm 200 miles off the coast of South Carolina in 1857 with thousands of pounds of gold aboard

Thompson sold much of the salvaged treasure, inclduing gold bars pictured here, for $50million in 2000

The gold-rush era boat went down in a hurricane off South Carolina in 1857 with 425 people and thousands of pounds of gold aboard, contributing to an economic panic. 

Much of the booty salvaged by Thompson and his team from the shipwreck was later sold to a gold marketing group in 2000 for about $50 million.

The 161 investors who paid Thompson $12.7million to locate the legendary shipwreck never saw any proceeds. Two sued — a now-deceased investment firm president and the company that once published The Columbus Dispatch newspaper.

Thompson pleaded guilty in April to contempt of court for failing to appear before a federal judge in 2012. Part of his plea deal requires him to answer questions in closed-door sessions about the whereabouts of the missing gold coins.

The first of those hearings was held on October 19. A federal prosecutor chided Thompson afterward, calling his answers about the treasure evasive and concerning, and scheduled another hearing for October 26.

But Thompson's former attorney canceled the hearing two days beforehand, saying he told his client not to answer further questions at the risk of incriminating himself. That attorney, Steve Nolder, no longer represents Thompson.

Thompson was criticized by investors for 'feigned ignorance, convenient lack of recollection, and then outright refusal to answer any more questions,' according to a court filing last week.

Seafarer: Thompson, left, stands at the helm of the Arctic Explorer in Norfolk, Virginia in 1991 

Booty: A 1989 file photo shows gold bars and coins from the SS Central America 

Nabbed: Thompson, pictured in 1989 with a $50 pioneer gold piece he found in 1988 in a wreck of the gold ship Central America, was arrested in January after more than two years on the run

Thompson can't say whether the coins are on the island of Nevis, in Belize or elsewhere, and who he gave them to for moving them out of the country, the filing stated. The coins are worth between $2million and $4million.

'In short, Thompson would have us believe that he gave millions of dollars of gold coins to a complete stranger, to be transported to Belize, Nevis or some other foreign location, but he does not know where in the world the coins were taken, how they got there, where they are now, who is charged with protecting them, or how to access them,' the investors said.

Thompson faces two years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 when he is sentenced for contempt of court on November 24.