Court Fees Arrived: Craig Wright Has To Pay $658K

Craig Wright to give $658k in court fees, demanded by the estate that blamed him of stealing $10 billion worth of Bitcoin from Dave Kleiman, his late partner as previously reported in the crypto news.

Sanctions were issued against Craig Wright by the Magistrate Judge Bruce E. Reinhart because he didn’t comply with the court order that asked him to surrender half of his Bitcoin holdings to plaintiff Ira Kleiman, brother of the late Dave Kleiman. At the same moment, the court ordered Craig Wright to pay for Ira’s court fees and legal costs.

However, the off-the-court negotiations did not develop into a real deal. On Wednesday the estate filed a motion that orders Wright to pay $592,558 in lawyer fees and $66,023 in expenses. Judge Beth Bloom of the U.S. District studied the motion on Thursday and passed it to Judge Reinhart for a final recommendation. Ira said in the motion:

“This amount is based on reasonable hourly rates — commensurate with those actually charged by these and comparable firms in matters in this district — and an appropriate number of hours worked in light of the scope and extent of Craig [Wright]’s deception and the amount at stake in this litigation”

After Judge Reinhart found Craig Wright guilty of making false declarations, producing tampered trust documents, and lying under oath, it is hugely inconvenient for him. In 2013 after the passing of Dave, Wright illegally gained access to Dave’s bitcoins, as per the court. The court ordered Wright to give back those bitcoins to Dave’s estate.

Nevertheless, Wright’s response was full of excuses. He claimed that he does not have access to Dave and his bitcoins since its held in a blind trust. A digital forensics expert, on the other hand, said that Wright is lying about the Trust. Ownership of that bitcoin could also prove that Wright is the real Satoshi.

But Wright had responded with a ton of excuses, claiming that he does not have access to Dave’s bitcoins because they are held in a blind trust. But a digital forensics expert said that Wright’s claims about the trust are false. Also, the ownership of that bitcoin could have proven the claim that Wright is the real Satoshi.

Wright required a 30-day extension to respond to the court sanctions. He agreed to off-court negotiations to reach settlement deal with the Kleiman estate. In November, Ira informed the court that Wright cannot finance the deal, and because of that, he was pulling out of the settlement deal.