Craig Wright, the individual who has claimed to be the founder of Bitcoin and Satoshi Nakamoto, has been accused of contemptuous conduct in court proceedings. This allegation stems from Wright’s failure to correctly provide information linked to $143 million in disputed cryptocurrency. U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart issued the ruling in the ongoing legal battle between Wright and Ira Kleiman, who claims rights to crypto allegedly mined by his late brother David.
In 2022, a judge found in favor of Kleiman and linked company W&K. However, W&K accuses Wright of never fully providing the necessary personal information to enforce the payment. As a result, they have asked the court to conduct contempt of court proceedings and impose fines of $250,000 per day. In response to the request, Reinhart stated that there is prima facie evidence of contemptuous conduct, as Wright has “refused to provide basic information about his spouse and her assets” on the form.
Wright’s argument that the form should be kept confidential to avoid revealing sensitive personal data has been deemed factually false by Reinhart. The form, now unsealed, gives Satoshi Nakamoto as Wright’s nickname or alias and states that his assets have been transferred or assigned to others. Wright and his attorneys have until May 18 to justify why they should not face sanctions for seeking to keep this information confidential.
Although Wright insists that the provided information is accurate, he claims to be unable or legally restricted from offering some of the requested data. He will have another opportunity to make his case, with a further hearing set for July 6 in Palm Beach, Florida. The hearing will consider the facts connected to the alleged non-compliance.
This is not the first time that Wright has faced legal issues related to his claims. In April, a High Court judge in England ruled that it was not in the public interest to pursue contempt of court proceedings against Wright, despite evidence suggesting he had revealed details of a judgment before its publication. Additionally, in December, Wright was granted permission to appeal a Norwegian court’s finding that a social media user was entitled to post tweets labeling Wright a “fraud” and a “scammer” for asserting himself as Satoshi.
While the legal battle continues, the implications of its outcome may impact the credibility of Wright’s claims and further fuel discussions surrounding the true identity of Bitcoin’s founder. Nevertheless, the case serves as a reminder of the importance of transparency and accuracy when dealing with sensitive information in the cryptocurrency space.
Source: Coindesk
