The finger in that video was seen by many and it damaged his standing. He also made a comment about how much wealth he had compared to the interviewer and that too was unacceptable behaviour by Ver.
At the time the events took place, Ver was happy to receive as much publicity as possible and he even went out of his way to ensure he was on the stage giving speeches and participating in debates around many crypto exhibitions around the world. If he has kept a low profile and not gone on a self-promoting media round then maybe things would have worked out different or him.
Having said that, if $48 million is being claimed then that is something Ver should be able to pay reasonably fast because he has the resources (unless he spent/lost most of his Bitcoin holding).
I never liked Roger, especially after that video where he showed us the finger, but what amazes me is that he sold so many BTC for less than $1k - that's one.
Then the part where he changed citizenship and was required to pay exit tax - like WTF? The country bullies you, you decide you don't want to live there anymore, so they want you to pay them for leaving? What kind of law is that? I'm sure many people aren't even aware of such rule.
It's also amazing that Ver hasn't been a US citizen for a decade and they come up with that right now? I feel like this isn't a coincidence and either some model citizen reminded the IRS about him, or maybe it has something to do with the recent attack on bitcoin wallets.