Charlie Shrem at Ben's Deli in Manhattan (Ken Kurson)
Bitcoin,  Innovators

Winklevoss twins end lawsuit against Charlie Shrem

The case, over the alleged theft of 5,000 bitcoins, has ended with no damages

Charlie Shrem has come out on top of his legal dispute with Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss. Two months after Winklevoss Capital Fund was ordered to pay Shrem $45,000 in court fees after a federal judge overturned an order freezing more than $30 million of Shrem’s assets, the case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled. Both sides agreed to pay their own costs as part of the agreement.

“From day one, I’ve maintained the allegations are bogus, and they are of course,” Shrem told Modern Consensus via email. “After their attorney was sanctioned and they were ordered to pay my legal fees twice, we recently reached a confidential resolution, and I’m dismissed from the case. I’m thankful for Brian Klein and my legal team and pleased to have this behind me.”

Winklevoss Capital had sued Shrem, alleging that he had misappropriated about 5,000 bitcoins (BTC) out of a larger order he bought for them for $250,000 in 2012. The case number was 18-cv-8250 (JSR).

WINKLEVOSS CAPITAL FUND, LLC v. CHARLES SHREM (via Pacer.gov)
WINKLEVOSS CAPITAL FUND, LLC v. CHARLES SHREM (via Pacer.gov)

When Shrem’s assets, including cryptocurrency, houses, boats, and cars, were frozen in November 2018, they were worth about $32 million, according to court records.

The Winklevoss twins
Winklevii (via Wiki Commons).

The Winklevoss Capital lawsuit sought the return of 5,000 Bitcoin. On Nov. 1, 2018, Bitcoin was worth $6,379, and were worth $5,236 at press time. The price hit a high of $19,909 on Dec. 17, 2017. The suit had claimed Shrem’s assets were purchased with “the appreciated value of the 5,000 Bitcoin he stole.”

Shrem had claimed to be “essentially broke” when released from prison in 2015 after serving a year for violating anti-money laundering laws at his Bitinstant exchange.

Shrem drives away from the case in one of his two Maseratis, with his assets intact.

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Leo Jakobson, Modern Consensus editor-in-chief, is a New York-based journalist who has traveled the world writing about incentive travel. He has also covered consumer and employee engagement, small business, the East Coast side of the Internet boom and bust, and New York City crime, nightlife, and politics. Disclosure: Jakobson has put some 401k money into Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.