Craig Wright Sentenced to One Year in Prison for Contempt of Court, Legal Woes Deepen

This decision, issued by Justice James Edward Mellor, follows a thorough analysis of Wright’s conduct, which the court ruled included “significant

Craig Wright, who claims to be Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, has been sentenced to one year in prison by a UK judge for contempt of court on Thursday.

This decision, made by Justice James Edward Mellor, comes after an extensive review of Wright’s conduct, which the court found included “significant and persistent falsehoods” regarding his status as Bitcoin’s founder.

The sentence is however suspended for two years, meaning that Wright will only serve time if he commits further offenses during this probationary period.

Craig Wright’s Legal Deepen

This ruling pertains to a high-profile case where Craig Wright filed a massive $1.15 trillion lawsuit against Bitcoin developers and payments company Square. The court found that he breached a previous order that barred him from publicly claiming to be Satoshi Nakamoto and pursuing legal actions based on this assertion.

At the recent hearing, Wright reportedly indicated his intention to appeal the contempt finding, though he could not be immediately reached for comment.

However, Wright’s legal troubles escalated as the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), a consortium of cryptocurrency companies, proceeded with their proceedings against him.

COPA sought a formal declaration that Craig Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto, in an effort to curb his ability to pursue multiple lawsuits against Bitcoin developers and others regarding intellectual property rights connected to Bitcoin.

During the six-week trial, Justice Mellor delivered an unusual snap verdict, stating, “The evidence is overwhelming.” He concluded that Wright was not the individual who operated under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakもと and accused him of deliberately fabricating documents to support his claims.

The judge characterized Craig Wright’s actions as a “vehicle for fraud,” highlighting that his extensive lies were aimed at bolstering his primary falsehood: his identity as Bitcoin’s creator.

Along with the contempt ruling, Justice Mellor also directed the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to consider pursuing criminal charges against Wright for what he described as “wholesale perjury.” As of now, no perjury charges have been filed against him.

Wright’s Claims Of Bitcoin Alteration Rejected

Craig Wright’s October lawsuit against Square and Bitcoin developers accused them of “misrepresenting” Bitcoin (BTC) as the original cryptocurrency.

He alleged that they had altered the original Bitcoin protocol without authorization, asserting that these changes deviated fundamentally from the system defined by Satoshi Nakamoto in the Bitcoin White Paper.

COPA on the other hand, argued that Craig Wright’s lawsuit violated the legal injunctions placed upon him, alleging contempt on five separate grounds.

In his judgment, Justice Mellor ordered Wright to discontinue his legal actions against Square and the Bitcoin developers, stating, “There is no doubt whatever that each of these contempts has been proved.”

Craig Wright had been expected to attend a hearing to address the contempt claims but failed to appear, citing potential financial losses in excess of £240,000 ($303,000) as the reason for his absence. Reports suggest he is currently in Asia, possibly in Singapore or Indonesia, but he did not disclose his exact location when asked by the court.

At press time, Bitcoin is trading at $96,340, having lost the key $100,000 mark following the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) decision to cut interest rates on Wednesday. Currently, BTC is down nearly 5% over the past 24 hours.

Featured image from the Financial Times, chart from TradingView.com