Craig Wright, the serial liar and forger desperate for everyone to believe he alone created Bitcoin, has been ordered to hand over ₿500,000 to the brother of his late business partner Dave Kleiman following a judgment that stops the case from going to trial. U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart in West Palm Beach, Florida granted the Kleiman estate’s motion to compel yesterday, ruling that Wright must share half the BTC mined through 2013 as well as half of all the intellectual property he created at the time, while also condemning Wright’s behavior, legal argument, and submission of fraudulent evidence in the case.
Wright’s Lack of Compliance Ends Badly
Judge Reinhart’s ruling is not a ruling on the case itself, but is instead a ruling on the motion to compel, which stems from Wright’s refusal to adhere to requests by the judge for certain documents, among other misdemeanors. Judge Reinhart, in assessing the motion, agreed that Wright had lied, forged documents, provided an unbelievable testimony, and not complied with court requests, deciding that the correct sanction would be the forfeiture of the half a million BTC to the Kleiman estate. The ruling means that the case cannot now go to trial, but can still be appealed by Wright’s attorneys, and although a criminal case cannot now be pursued, a civil one can.
Wright’s Case “Defies Common Sense”
Wright’s argument throughout the case has been that he created Bitcoin in 2008 and by 2013 had mined ₿1,000,000 solo. Then, when it started to be used for nefarious purposes, he asked Kleiman to help him “disassociate from Bitcoin” by storing all the coins in an encrypted multi-signature wallet, giving away the controlling number of private keys to Kleiman, who passed away in 2013. Wright claimed that his only hope of getting access to the billions of dollars’ worth of BTC was if an unknown ‘bonded courier’ appears in January 2020 with the keys, otherwise the BTC is apparently lost forever. This story, it is safe to say, did not wash with Judge Reinhart:
I completely reject Dr. Wright’s testimony about the alleged Tulip Trust, the alleged encrypted file, and his alleged inability to identify his bitcoin holdings. Dr. Wright’s story not only was not supported by other evidence in the record, it defies common sense and real-life experience.
Reinhart Doesn’t Buy Wright’s Lies
When discussing Wright’s testimony, Judge Reinhart pulls no punches. Wright has been accused of forging important documents for years now, something that may wash with individuals like Calvin Ayre and Jimmy Nguyen, but not in a federal court – Judge Reinhart stated that there is “substantial credible evidence” that documents produced by Wright in his defense are fraudulent, and that there is “credible and compelling” evidence that others had been altered. Amazingly, he also states that some of Wright’s documents contradict his testimony rather than bolstering it. Judge Reinhart offers a neat summary that won’t surprise many:
…he (Wright) has engaged in a willful and bad faith pattern of obstructive behavior, including submitting incomplete or deceptive pleadings, filing a false declaration, knowingly producing a fraudulent trust document, and giving perjurious testimony at the evidentiary hearing.
Despite the evisceration, Wright’s long-time supporters rallied round him, with Ayre taking the opportunity to promote an upcoming book on Craig Wright, tweeting that it was “…nice timing to be out at the same time as Craig gets the Satoshi coins out of tulip trust. Also good timing with Judge just ruling Craig is Satoshi.” This is despite Judge Reinhart stating at the very start of the ruling that “the Court is not required to decide, and does not decide, whether Defendant Dr. Craig Wright is Satoshi Nakamoto.”
Whatever happens with the case from here, at least one thing can be put to bed – given that a federal judge has stated that Craig Wright presented fraudulent documentation to support his argument that he created Bitcoin, it is now legally non-libelous to state that CRAIG WRIGHT IS A FRAUD!
