The Winklevoss twins have filed a lawsuit against infamous BitInstant founder Charlie Shrem. They claim the Bitcoin investor stole 5,000 Bitcoins from them in 2012.
Winklevoss Twins Lawsuit
According to the New York Times, Shrem made several lavish purchases in 2018 that caught the attention of the Winklevoss twins. They filed a civil suit against him, convinced that Shrem made these purchases—which include a $2 million house and luxury cars—using the Bitcoins he had stolen from them in 2012.
Shrem Worked for the Winklevoss Twins Before Lawsuit
The twins hired Shrem in 2012. Tasked with building up a cryptocurrency stockpile, he had access to thousands of dollars to purchase Bitcoin.
At this point in time, Bitcoin was worth around $12 per coin.
The Winklevoss twins’ lawsuit claims that around $60,000 worth of Bitcoin was never accounted for. At approx $12 per coin, this value meant around 5,000 Bitcoins. However, 5,000 Bitcoins in today’s market is worth roughly $30 million.
At that value, the Winklevoss twins have decided to push forward on the matter even though it has been a contentious issue between the parties for several years.
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Shrem’s Legal Team Contests Winklevoss Lawsuit
Charlie Shrem is obviously fighting the accusation. A representative from his legal team gave this response:
“Winklevoss Capital Fund has brought an utterly baseless civil lawsuit against Charlie Shrem. The lawsuit erroneously alleges that about six years ago Charlie essentially misappropriated thousands of bitcoins. Nothing could be further from the truth. Charlie plans to vigorously defend himself and quickly clear his name.”
However, Shrem has had run-ins with the law before. He was arrested in 2014 and served two years in prison for “operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, money laundering conspiracy and willfully failing to file suspicious activity reports with banking authorities.”
According to Prosecutors, Shrem conspired to launder $1 million worth of Bitcoin to help Silk Road users make anonymous and illegal purchases.
Transactions on the Blockchain
The truth should lie in the Blockchain. It is claimed that Shrem sent the missing Bitcoins to addresses that he controlled. He subsequently would have forwarded the coins to other wallets. If this is the case, the answer should be in the log.
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