Fact Check: Was ‘Gold Rush’ Star Tony Beets Sentenced to Jail Time?

The internet is filled with rumors and gossip of celebrities and other well-known media personalities — but while some of the gossip can prove to be true, there are other parts of it that come with serious allegations, such as those involving Gold Rush star Tony Beets.

Gold Rush is a Discovery reality series about the placer gold mining efforts of multiple family-run mining companies, in the locations of Alaska and Klondike region of Dawson City, Yukon, Canada, Colorado, Oregon and Guyana. The series premiered in 2010 and has aired 367 episodes across 15 seasons.

In short, no, Tony Beets did not go to jail. This stems from an internet rumor that has surprisingly grown legs despite there being no truth to it or concrete evidence to support the claims.

There have been multiple videos across TikTok and YouTube that proclaim that Tony was arrested and sentenced to life in prison, which is unequivocally false. However, that hasn’t stopped the videos from continuously popping up on the internet.

“I enjoy it. Usually, when people ask for a picture and you talk to them, you make their day,” he told TV Insider in a 2024 interview. “You make these people happy. I think if you can do that, it’s a pretty great thing. I talk to a lot of nice people. Sometimes this comes with perks like when you’re somewhere and let in first and sh*t like that. It has been a very good gig, and I enjoy it.”

“It’s nice for people to see what we do, especially when we show we don’t leave a mess behind. We don’t leave a bill for the general public to pay,” Tony continued. “We change the landscape, but when we do the excavation there is nothing wrong with what we do.”

“It’s the message we like to send. It’s not the mess we make, but what we leave behind. A completely different forest and place for wildlife to live. Once in a while when they do show that on the show. That’s what we like the show to be more about too. Not the mess we make, but the good we leave behind,” he said.

The Dutch-Canadian gold miner told TV Insider that he doesn’t plan on throwing in the towel anytime soon. “You want to enjoy your life. That is what I’ve been doing every day for the last 40 years that I’ve been mining. I don’t think that will change any time soon. People may ask if I’m going to retire or do this or that. I tell them I’ll leave it in a box. That will be about it,” Tony told the outlet.

However, he shared that when he does decide to step away from the business, it will be in good hands thanks to his kids. “We’re very fortunate to be setting the kids up nicely. We’re very fortunate the kids are working with us,” Tony said.

“I think in the future they will carry it on as long as the gold price is up and there is enough ground to mine. It is nice to work with your kids and see this carried on. It looks like we have enough ground where they can do this for a long time. We are pretty successful that way,” he added.