Ex-treasure hunter spends 6th year in prison

Tommy Thompson has been held in contempt of court since mid-December 2015 for refusing to respond to questions about gold coins.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A former deep-sea treasure hunter is preparing to mark his sixth year in jail for refusing to disclose the whereabouts of 500 missing gold coins.

Tommy Thompson has been held in contempt of court since mid-December 2015. That's when federal Judge Algenon Marbley found Thompson had violated a plea deal by refusing to respond to questions about the coins.

The coins in question were discovered inside the S.S. Central America, which sank in a hurricane off South Carolina in 1857. More than 100 years later, in 1988, Thompson discovered the Ship of Gold, as it's also known. 

CBS News reports Thompson's legal troubles stem from the more than 160 investors that gave him $12.7 million to find the ship. After never receiving the proceeds, they decided to sue. 

In 2012, a federal judge ordered he appear in court, but Thompson would flee to Florida, living with a female companion near Boca Raton until U.S. marshals were able to arrest him in 2015. 

Thompson says he's already said everything he knows about the coins. His latest hearing is scheduled for Jan. 7.