Winklevoss Twins Instructed To Pay $45k To Charlie Shrem

Winklevoss Twins Instructed To Pay $45k To Charlie Shrem

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss are two of the biggest names in the cryptocurrency space who famously become two of the first Bitcoin billionaires during the rise of cryptocurrency. The twins have now been ordered to pay back $45,000 in legal fees sparked by the entrepreneur Charlie Shrem as part of an ongoing lawsuit that alleges he failed to broker a series of promised cryptocurrency purchases on their behalf.

For those that don’t know, Charlie Shrem is an entrepreneur and an advocate for Bitcoin. In 2011 he co-founded the now-defunct startup company BitInstant and is one of the founders for the Bitcoin Foundation, where he served as vice chairman.

Winklevoss Capital was previously an investor in BitInstant. This was an early crypto exchange that was one of the most public before it eventually got shut down 2013 when Shrem was found to have violated anti-money laundering rules during this tenure as CEO. As a result of this, Shrem was sent to prison to serve a one year sentence.

The order to pay back the money was filed in the US District Court of the Southern District of New York earlier this week by Judge Jed S. Rakoff who came to the conclusion that Shrem should be reimbursed for the previous court decision that gave the plaintiffs the ability to seize up to $30 million worth of his assets.

Back in earlier November was when the first order was rolled back at which point Shrem filed a motion to gather lawyer fees and related costs for the lawsuit.

In an attempt to argue that Shrem shouldn’t be getting payback for the funds, the attorney’s for the Winklevoss Capital said that he was only charged a “de minimis amount” of less than $5. In the end, though, the court rejected this idea that invalidated Shrem’s claim even though the judge found the requested damages should be reduced by 40 percent on reviewing the charges.

A partner at Baker Marquart LLP, Brian Klein said:

“We are glad that the judge ruled for Charlie and ordered WCF to reimburse him for legal fees he incurred in overturning WCF’s approximately $30 million attachment order. This is another big step towards his full vindication.”

In conclusion, the court filing is the latest in a recent lawsuit that has pitted three high-profile cryptocurrency industry personalities and former business partners against each other in the headlines.

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