Private company
Columbus-America Discovery Group
Sidewheel steamer ship
SS Central America, known as the Ship of Gold, was a 280-foot (85 m) sidewheel steamer that operated between Central America and the East Coast of the United States during the 1850s. She was originally named the SS George Law, after George Law of New York. The ship sank in a hurricane in September 1857, along with 425 of her 578 passengers and crew and 30,000 pounds (13,600 kg) of gold, contributing to the Panic of 1857.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0
Last updated Oct 21, 2026.
Overview
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SS Central America, known as the Ship of Gold, was a 280-foot (85 m) sidewheel steamer that operated between Central America and the East Coast of the United States during the 1850s. She was originally named the SS George Law, after George Law of New York. The ship sank in a hurricane in September 1857, along with 425 of her 578 passengers and crew and 30,000 pounds (13,600 kg) of gold, contributing to the Panic of 1857.2
Controversies and legal
Legal issues
Thirty-nine insurance companies filed suit, claiming rights because they paid damages in the 19th century for the lost gold. The team that found it argued that the gold had been abandoned. After a legal battle, 92% of the gold was awarded to the discovery team in 1996.
Thompson was sued in 2005 by several investors who had provided $12.5 million in financing, and in 2006 by several crew members over a lack of returns for their respective investments. In 2009, he had an off-shore account in the Cook Islands of $4.16 million (~$5.89 million in 2024). Thompson went into hiding in 2012. A receiver was appointed to take over Thompson's companies and, if possible, salvage more gold from the wreck, in order to recover money for Thompson's various creditors.
Thompson was located in January 2015 by United States Marshals Service agents, along with assistant Alison Antekeier, and was extradited to Ohio to provide an accounting of the expedition profits. In November 2018, Thompson agreed to surrender 500 gold coins but then claimed he had no access to the missing coins. On November 28, 2018, a jury awarded investors $19.4 million in compensatory damages: $3.2 million to the Dispatch Printing Company — which had put up $1 million of $22 million invested — and $16.2 million to the court-appointed receiver for the other investors. Tommy Thompson (now 73) was released from prison on 4 March, 2026 after serving more than a decade behind bars.
From Wikipedia’s article on Columbus-America Discovery Group, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3
Links
- WikipediaColumbus-America Discovery Group
- WikidataQ1112693
Sources
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