Judge Fines Winklevoss Twin’s Lawyer $15K
The Winklevoss Twins had sued Bitcoin entrepreneur Charlie Shrem for defrauding them of at least 5,000 Bitcoin worth of $31 million at the time of filing suit. Lawyer Tyler Meade misled them into making “legal missteps” that lead them to lose more money including having to reimburse Shrem’s legal fees. This according to a report from Fast Company, March 7, 2019.
Attorney Misled His Clients
Lawyer Tyler Meade has been fined a steep $15,000 in fees in what the court has called “improper behavior.” The lawyer misled his clients during the hearing which made the judge order them to pay the respondent $45,000 to recover his legal fees for defending himself in a hearing that became erroneous. Meade was reportedly apologetic, saying:
“I clearly made some determinations that were incorrect, and I’m sorry for that, profoundly sorry for that.”
According to the Law360 publication, Meade’s “improper behavior” included wasting the court’s time during the last hearing and the fact that the entire hearing has to be redone. The publication notes that during the February disposition:
“Meade made dozens of objections to questions and instructed his clients not to answer on the grounds of relevance, which is not allowed in a civil deposition; […] Shrem’s lawyers reportedly described Meade’s conduct as “obstructive behavior.”
Bitcoin Millionaire turned First Bitcoin Felon
The twins, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss went to court after suspecting Shrem was living large on the Bitcoin he owed them since 2012 when they converted their windfall from a settlement with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg into a cryptocurrency fortune. The 5,000 Bitcoin would be worth $31 million at that time. The twins said in their suit:
“Either Shrem has been incredibly lucky and successful since leaving prison, or — more likely — he ‘acquired’ his six properties, two Maseratis, two powerboats and other holdings with the appreciated value of the 5,000 Bitcoin he stole from.”
Mr. Shrem was among the pioneer Bitcoin millionaires, but he quickly earned the title of being Bitcoin’s first felon after being arrested for using the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange Bitinstant to sell cryptocurrency to people he knew were going to use it buy illicit drugs. Shrem was released in 2106 and claimed to have changed his ways and wanted to start life on a new path.
The legal confrontation between Charlie Shrem by the Bitcoin billionaire Winklevoss twins was expected to be herculean as the brothers claimed in their suit they gave Shrem $750,000 to buy Bitcoin for them after he got them interested in Bitcoin in 2012. As things stand now, only time will tell if the Winklevoss twin will be able to gather strength or the fines will hurt their case further.
