Self-proclaimed creator of Bitcoin (BTC) Craig Wright wants to challenge a recent court order requiring him to pay 500,000 Bitcoins to the Kleiman estate.
Reinhardt did not have power to enter the order, Wright says
On Aug. 30, Wright’s attorney Andres Rivero filed a document with the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, asking for a 14-day extension of time to file a motion with the district court judge challenging Magistrate Reinhart’s order issued on Aug. 27.
In the document, Rivero stated that Wright “does not concede that Magistrate Reinhardt had the power to enter the order that he did,” adding that Wright’s lawyers team will need additional 14 days to address the legal validity of the order.
Wright to challenge the order until Sept. 24
Originally, any motion challenging the order would be due on Sept. 10, 2019, while Wright’s new request moves it to Sept. 24, Rivero noted in the document.
In support of the request, Wright’s legal team cited a major hurricane threatening Central and South Florida as one of the reasons to enlarge the time for challenging Reinhart’s order. The document reads:
“Central and South Florida are currently threatened by a major hurricane. Hurricane Dorian is expected to make landfall in Florida early next week and counsel for Dr. Wright have been expending significant time preparing for the hurricane, which has limited their ability to work on this matter.”
Concluding the request, Rivero wrote that the motion was “brought in good faith” rather than for the “purposes of delay.”
Cryptocurrency podcaster Peter McCormack, who was previously sued by Wright for accusing him of fraud and false claims to be real inventor of Bitcoin, questioned Wright’s ability to pay 500,000 BTC at all. In a tweet on Aug. 28, McCormack bet $10,000 that Wright does not have access to that amount of Bitcoin at all.
The new twist in the ongoing case between Wright and Kleiman estate takes roots in the lawsuit first filed by the estate of David Kleiman in February 2018. According to the estate, Wright stole hundreds of thousands of BTC, worth over $5 billion dollars at the time of filing, from David Kleiman’s estate.
Following the new order, requiring Wright to pay 500,000 Bitcoins, which is considered to be a half of the sum that he allegedly stole, the self-proclaimed inventor of Bitcoin said that the payout could bring great volatility to crypto markets as the Kleimans may have to sell a large amount of BTC in order to pay the estate tax.
