BitBoy Crypto, whose real name is Ben Armstrong, intentionally did not show up in court to respond to harassment allegations against a lawyer. Rather, the cryptocurrency influencer apparently mocked the judge’s authority by tweeting a photo of himself on a beach in the Bahamas.
BitBoy Crypto fails to show up in court and tweets that he is in the Bahamas
On 20 April, Judge Melissa Damian had ordered Ben Armstrong, known as BitBoy Crypto, and his lawyer to appear in court. The charge brought against the youtuber would be “harassment of the plaintiff attorney.”
However, BitBoy Crypto decided to intentionally miss the appearance, tweeting that he was on a beach in the Bahamas on that day.
A real mockery of the authority of a federal judge, executed publicly and worldwide with the publication of the tweets.
Reportedly, Judge Damian gave notice to Armstrong’s lawyer, who unlike BitBoy was actually present, that he would issue an arrest warrant for the YouTuber if he did not show up by 24 April.
The harassment case against Armstrong went on without him, and the judge reported that the matter has been referred to the FBI.
BitBoy Crypto and the allegation of harassment against the plaintiff lawyer
The harassment allegations brought against BitBoy Crypto, a crypto influencer with one million followers on Twitter and nearly one and a half million on YouTube, were made by Adam Moskowitz.
Moskowitz is the lead attorney representing plaintiffs in the class action against several influencers (including Armstrong) who allegedly promoted fraud through the collapsed crypto-exchange FTX without disclosing compensation.
Moskowitz and the entire legal team allegedly accused BitBoy Crypto of harassment such as “endless phone calls, tweets and emails,” voice messages “full of vulgarity,” and social media posts suggesting threats.
On Twitter, the youtuber continued yesterday to mock the harassment case and also Moskowitz.
In another tweet, BitBoy Crypto hinted that such a move may have been advised by his own lawyer.
Moskowitz’s lawsuit also involves CZ of Binance
Adam Moskowitz’s Moskowitz Law Firm has filed a lawsuit not only against BitBoy Crypto, but also other crypto influencers, including Changpeng CZ Zhao, the CEO of Binance.
The class action followed by Moskowitz also implicates Binance for allowing cryptocurrency exchanges such as BNB, again defined as unregistered securities.
Binance allegedly paid influencers, through its affiliate program, who acted by promoting these financial products illegally.
Moskowitz said this is a classic example of a centralized exchange promoting the sale of unregistered securities. Meanwhile, the plaintiffs are seeking a total of more than $1 billion in damages.