Craig Wright Reportedly Must Give 50% of Mined Bitcoin to Kleiman Estate
Last month, a judge ordered Craig Wright to turn over 50% of the bitcoin he mined with his former business associate, deceased computer genius Dave Kleiman. | Image: YouTube/BBC
Self-proclaimed Satoshi Nakamoto Craig Wright suffered a massive blow today when a judge recommended that he turn over 50% of the bitcoin he mined with his former business associate, deceased computer genius Dave Kleiman. The duo reportedly mined 1.1 million bitcoin from 2009 to 2011.
Florida federal judge Bruce Reinhart also ordered Wright give (to Kleiman’s estate) 50% of any intellectual property he had developed with Kleiman when the duo collaborated from 2008 until Kleiman’s death in 2013.
Wright confirmed the news himself in an interview, where he gloated that he’s still a bitcoin whale who owns more than $5 billion in bitcoin.
Judge: Craig Wright Committed perjury and falsified documents
According to the Twitter account 22nd Century Crypto, the “judge rejected all CSW testimony” and found that Craig Wright had “perjured himself,” “lied,” and “falsified documents.”
Judge reportedly referred to Wright as Satoshi Nakamoto
That said, the judge apparently referred to Wright as “Satoshi Nakamoto” several times during the hearing and believed that he was involved in the creation of bitcoin.
Wright not fined or jailed despite alleged perjury
Despite Judge Reinhart’s alleged assessment that Wright had lied and perjured himself, he apparently decided not to fine Wright or throw him in jail.
That’s noteworthy because perjury is a third-degree felony in Florida punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
While many on Crypto Twitter are wallowing in schadenfreude at this early defeat for Wright, keep in mind that the lawsuit is still ongoing.
The case is not over, only the contempt hearing. So we still haven’t gotten to the meat of the lawsuit.
A paperless entry of the proceedings was entered into the docket of the Kleiman v. Wright lawsuit but has not yet been made public.
Judged: Wright ‘failed to present any credible evidence’
As it is, there were hints that the contempt hearing would not go well for Wright.
As CCN.com reported on Aug. 15, Judge Beth Bloom expressed annoyance at what she considered conflicting statements made by Wright. For the record, Bloom is not the judge who presided over today’s contempt hearing.
Specifically, Judge Bloom suggested that Wright had lied about who were the members of W&K Info Defense Research.
Judge Bloom concluded that Wright “failed to present any credible evidence showing that any of the parties he suggests are members of W&K.”
Moreover, Judge Bloom wrote that “the Court simply does not find the Defendant’s testimony to be credible” as to membership in W&K.
W&K (which presumably stands for Wright & Kleiman) was the Florida-based company that Wright and Dave Kleiman had collaborated on before Kleiman died in 2013.
Wright and Kleiman worked on blockchain and allegedly mined 1.1 million bitcoin during their five-year partnership. That bitcoin trove is now worth more than $11 billion.
Wright never shared that massive bitcoin fortune with Kleiman’s estate after he died, according to a 2018 lawsuit filed by Ira Kleiman, Dave’s brother.
