text: A fugitive treasure hunter who took gold worth millions of dollars from a shipwreck before spending years on the run is finally facing jail. Tommy Thompson has agreed to go to prison rather than reveal details about the valuable haul he recovered from the SS Central America. In 1988 the 62-year-old led an excursion to the vessel, known as the Ship of Gold, which sank  off the Carolina coast in 1857 laden with 21 tons of gold. Tommy Thompson, 62, left, and girlfriend Alison Antekeier, 42, have both admitted contempt of court in Columbus, Ohio . Gold bars taken from the SS Central America which sank during a hurricane in 1857 . Around 400 people drowned in the 19th-Century shipwreck. Thompson, then an oceanic engineer at Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, and his crew brought up thousands of bars and coins, much of them later sold to a gold marketing group in 2000 for about $50 million. He was accused of cheating his 161 investors, who paid $12.7 million to find the ship, out of the proceeds. In civil proceedings brought by a number of the backers they claimed the find was worth up to $260 million. Columbus attorney Rick Robol, who at one time defended Thompson's company, said there was no proof Thompson stole anything. Thompson and his girlfriend, Alison Antekeier, 42, failed to appear in court in 2012 and abandoned their Florida mansion. A man who had worked for the couple later discovered wads of cash hidden in the pipes and a book called How To Be Invisible at the property. Thompson and Antekeir were arrested in January after U.S. marshals tracked them down to the Boco Raton Hotel in Florida. They were said to have been staying there for more than a year and using fake names, according to U.S. marshals. 'Thompson was smart — perhaps one of the smartest fugitives ever sought by the U.S. Marshals, along with almost limitless resources and approximately a 10-year head start,' U.S. Marshal Michael Tobin said when the pair were found. The couple, both wearing orange jumpsuits and chains, admitted contempt of court at the federal courthouse in Columbus, Ohio, after reaching a plea bargains. 'This case started with willful disobedience of a judge's order to appear in court and ended when the U.S. Marshals Service got their man and woman,' prosecutors reportedly said, according to the Columbus Dispatch. An artists impression of the SS Central America sinking off the Carolina coast in 1857 . Thompson is said to be facing no more than two years in custody after he agreed to hand over $435,380 in cash that was found with the couple, the newspaper reported. But under the deal he will not have to testify about the gold haul he discovered in the historic shipwreck. Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Squires recommended Antekeier serve no prison time. Thompson was remanded into custody ahead of sentencing, but his girlfriend was released on bail.
target: Tommy Thompson, 62, led an 1988 expedition to the SS Central America .
  Ship sank off the Carolina coast in 1857 laden with 21 tons of gold .
  Allegedly failed to share profits with investors and went on the run .
  Pair now facing jail after pleading guilty to contempt of court in Ohio .