Satoshi Nakamoto in Court — Could Dr. Craig S Wright See Prison Time?

Dr. Craig S Wright’s claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto could soon see Wright face prison time. At least that is the opinion of some watching ongoing court proceedings in Florida.

Court transcripts from a hearing on June 28th, show that Wright has been found to have willfully refused to comply with earlier court requests. Specifically, requests to show evidence of his Bitcoin holdings and personal Bitcoin mining activity before 2014.

Dr. Craig S Wright in Court — What we Know so Far

The Ira Kleiman vs Craig Wright court case grows more confusing and convoluted by the day. However, the accusations against Wright are simple. Between 2009 and 2013, it is alleged that a deceased IT expert by the name of Dave Kleiman, mined Bitcoin collaboratively with Craig Wright.

Dr. Craig S Wright confirms that he mined Bitcoin with Kleiman. However, Dave’s surviving brother, Ira, claims that after Dave Kleiman’s death in 2013, Wright stole Bitcoin rightfully belonging to the deceased.

Craig Wright refutes this accusation. Instead, he claims that the late Dave Kleiman mutually agreed that their mined Bitcoin should be deposited in a blind trust, which neither Wright nor Kleiman would be able to access until 2020.

Craig Wright Failed to Comply With Court Discovery Processes

For the U.S. Southern District Court of Florida to rule on whether Wright did fraudulently acquire Bitcoin belonging to Dave Kleiman, the court requested that Wright provide evidence of his past and present Bitcoin holdings. However, Craig Wright initially refused to comply with this request. Therefore, it has already been found by the U.S. Southern District Court of Florida, that Wright is in contempt of court. Pending further proceedings, this may see Wright fined, incarcerated, or have a ruling made against him in the Ira Kleiman case by default.

Craig Wright May Have Submitted Falsified Evidence

Speculation is mounting that Dr. Craig S Wright initially refused to comply with court discovery processes because he couldn’t. There are also several inconsistencies with evidence which Wright has since submitted in his defense.

l Wright claims that all Bitcoin mined before 2014 with Dave Kleiman are held in a blind trust called the Tulip Trust based in Panama. However, it has been revealed that Wright only purchased the shell company which forms the basis of the Tulip Trust in 2014. (This being 1-year after Dave Kleiman’s death.)

l Documents which outline the supposed original Tulip Trust agreement forged between Wright and Kleiman in 2012, have been found to contain metadata which suggests they were first created in 2015.

l Ira Kleiman’s lawyers have provided emails which (allegedly) show evidence of being back-dated from 2012 to 2011 by Wright, to retrospectively make it look like Dave Kleiman and he entered into an agreement to deposit mined Bitcoin into the aforementioned Tulip Trust.

What Will Happen in Craig Wright is Found Guilty?

To date, Craig Wright’s legal team have attempted to explain inconsistencies in submitted documents as innocent. However, some legal experts believe that inconsistencies and Wright’s initial refusal to comply with court discovery processes is proof of his guilt.

If Wright is found guilty, he will be forced to hand over almost half a million Bitcoin which he purportedly owns to Ira Kleiman. However, a guilty verdict will also imply that Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto. Many believe that this will result in the value of Wright’s new cryptocurrency Bitcoin SV, plummeting. If this is the case, this could also leave Craig Wright backers Calvin Ayre and Jimmy Nguyen significantly out of pocket in the process.