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The self-proclaimed creator of Bitcoin is accused of stealing $5 billion worth of Bitcoin. Craig Wright is said to be one of the developers of Blockchain technology and the mysterious Bitcoin creator who goes by the pseudonym of “Satoshi Nakamoto.” In a new lawsuit, Wright is fingered as the mastermind in a $5 billion Bitcoin heist.
Wright is accused of stealing a massive cache of Bitcoin from David Kleiman, a fellow cryptocurrency developer and miner. Wright allegedly stole thousands of Bitcoin that are now said to be worth $5 billion. The lawsuit was brought to the United States District Court of the Southern District of Florida by the estate of David Kleiman, who was a computer scientist and cyber-security expert. Many believe Kleiman was one of the developers behind Bitcoin and Blockchain along with Wright.
The suit, which was first filed on February 14, 2018, alleges that Wright “forged a series of contracts that purported to transfer Dave’s assets to Craig and/or companies controlled by him. Craig backdated these contracts and forged Dave’s signature on them.” Kleiman got into a motorcycle accident and was left wheelchair-bound, he then died on April 26, 2013, from a MRSA infection. Kleiman’s estate, lead by his brother Ira, is seeking compensation for the intellectual property in addition to over $5 billion in Bitcoin.
Wright and Kleiman partnered to mine Bitcoin, and they owned more than 1.1 million Bitcoins combined. According to Ars Technica, the lawsuit states:
…unclear whether Craig, Dave, and/or both invented Bitcoin. For reasons not yet completely clear, they chose to keep their involvement in Bitcoin hidden from most of their family and friends. It is undeniable, however, that Craig and Dave were involved in Bitcoin from its inception and that they both accumulated a vast wealth of bitcoins from 2009 through 2013.
In April 2013, mere months prior to Bitcoin’s entry into the mainstream, Dave died after a long battle with MRSA. At the time of his death, no one in his family was aware of the extent of his involvement in creating Bitcoin. Nor were they aware that he had accumulated, with Craig, an incredible sum of bitcoins.
Recognizing that Dave’s family and friends weren’t aware of this, Craig perpetrated a scheme against Dave’s estate to seize Dave’s bitcoins and his rights to certain intellectual property associated with the Bitcoin technology.
Wright’s company went bankrupt after he misled the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). By late 2015, Australian police raided Wright’s home and he fled to the UK. The lawsuit claims that Kleiman is owed $5,118,266,427.50 worth of Bitcoin and IP rights. Wright has commented on the lawsuit on Twitter with one word: “Greed.”
https://twitter.com/ProfFaustus/status/968197704936550400
[CNBC]