Australian behind false Bitcoin claim due to pending jail term

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An Australian computer scientist who falsely claimed to be the founder of Bitcoin received a suspended prison sentence on Thursday in Britain for contempt of court after breaching a judge’s order.

High Court Judge James Mellor sentenced Craig Wright to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years, in his latest ruling against the 54-year-old.

Wright lost a legal battle earlier this year over allegations that he was Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonym attributed to the person widely credited with creating the cryptocurrency.

It has been sued by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (Copa), a non-profit group that includes cryptocurrency companies, after claims were filed as far back as 2016.

Mellor ruled in March that Wright “lied extensively” to support the false claim and issued a court order barring him from launching or threatening further legal action related to Bitcoin.

However, at a hearing this week, Cuba’s lawyers argued that Wright issued a claim worth more than £900bn related to Bitcoin in October, which constituted contempt of court.

In a new ruling issued Thursday, Mellor agreed, concluding that Wright had committed a “clear violation” of his order and was therefore in contempt of court “beyond reasonable doubt.”

The judge described the violation of the order as “flagrant,” noting that the computer scientist “expressed no remorse whatsoever.”

Mellor said he would provide a “more detailed set of reasons” for the ruling at a later date. He also dismissed Wright’s latest legal action and ordered the Australian to pay about £145,000 ($181,000) in legal costs to Cuba.

Wright attended court on Thursday via video link, telling Mellor he was in Asia but refused to specify the country after the judge asked him.

“I still don’t think the areas you covered are correct,” Wright said.

He added that he would appeal the contempt ruling, saying: “The Copa is an organization with one goal – to sue me.”

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