Just In: Court Sentences Craig Wright To One Year In Prison

Australian computer scientist Craig Wright, who has been lying about being the founder of Bitcoin, received a one-year  prison sentence. The high court in London found him in contempt of court for his unceasing lawsuits over his unfounded claims.

Craig Wright Sentenced to 1 Year in Jail

On Thursday, Craig Wright was sentenced for contempt of court after filing a £911 billion ($1.2 trillion) lawsuit against Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s payments company, Block, in Britain. The judge handed down a one-year prison sentence, suspended for two years, citing a “flagrant breach” of the court’s order.

Justice Mellor had earlier found that Wright, 54, had lied extensively about being Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous founder of Bitcoin. Nakamoto could allegedly be in possession of around one million Bitcoins and is thus likely to be a billionaire. Bitcoin, which was first mined in 2009, recently soared in value to £79,000.

The court dismissed Wright’s intellectual property rights over Bitcoin after the court discovered evidence of intent to commit fabrications.

In its judgment, the court criticized Craig Wright for using clumsy forgeries and relying on technical jargon to support his claims.

Craig Wright, the Australian scientist, continues facing legal consequences for fraudulently claiming to be Bitcoin’s creator. Despite the court’s order to stop legal action against Bitcoin developers, Wright defied the ruling in October, filing lawsuits valued at over £900 billion related to his intellectual property claims.

Jonathan Hough KC, representing Copa, a non-profit group of cryptocurrency firms, stated that Craig Wright not only claimed to be Nakamoto but also threatened legal action against those who disputed it.

He said this was a campaign to “terrorize” developers and bloggers and had put them through “years of personal hell.” He said the lawsuits were a “desperate publicity stunt” to keep Wright’s followers on side.

Judge Brands Wright a Liar

On Thursday, Craig Wright was convicted on five counts of contempt of court. He got a 12-month sentence, suspension for two years, and order to pay £145,000 in legal costs within two weeks. The court also threw out his substantial claims against Bitcoin developers.

Justice Mellor found Wright’s contempt proven “beyond reasonable doubt.” Wright’s legal strategies included alleging judicial bias and claiming he was a victim of the British aristocracy, referencing the word “Lord” in judgments against him. Judge dismissed these claims as baseless.

The courtroom was full of spectators, and one of them was actually wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the words, “This is just an elaborate fiction.” Wright came into court via video link from Singapore, having declined to attend in person unless paid £240,000 in costs and lost income.

In May, Justice Mellor delivered a damning judgment stating that Wright-while projecting himself as very intelligent-“is not nearly as clever as he thinks he is.” He labeled Craig Wright “an extremely slippery witness” who had told an abundance of lies and supported these with forged documents. All his lies and forged documents were in support of his biggest lie-in his claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto.

Wright has declared his intentions to appeal the ruling. Bitcoin price fell by over 4% under the support zone of 97,000.