Self-proclaimed Bitcoin creator, Craig S. Wright (CSW) is once again being accused of forging documents as part of the Kleiman v. Wright case.
Another Forgery Claim Hits Wright
Redacted court documents from a hearing held back in late July show Bitmessage developer Jonathan Warren providing testimony which shows Wright forging documents.
Back in early 2018, Bitcoinist reported that Dave Kleiman’s estate sued Wright for stealing about 1 million BTC. In response, Wright alleged that Kleiman signed away the sum as part of a blind trust (Tulip Trust).
Part of Craig Wright’s defense was a series of correspondences sent on the Bitmessage platform describing the trust process as well as the escrow wallet for the trust.
However, Warren told the court that these correspondences were likely forged because the messaging platform hadn’t gone live as the time reflected in the “proof” submitted by Wright.
An excerpt from the transcript of Warren’s cross-examination reads:
Q: Do you see the bottom message in this… in the box… in the “from” field?
A: Yes.
Q: It shows an address beginning with BM-2C?
A: Yes.
Q: And it also shows a received date of October 22, 2012?
A: Yes.
Q: What does that tell you about the message?
A: It tells me that something has been faked. Either the date has been faked or the screenshot has been faked.
Q: Why do you say that?
A: Because Bitmessage wasn’t released that time back in October of 2012.
According to Warren, the communications protocol for Bitmessage went live November 19, 2012, almost a month after Craig Wright claims to have communicated via the platform.
Bitcoin Inventor and Sloppy Forger
This revelation isn’t the first forgery accusation against Wright. Back in July, prosecution counsel accused Wright of forging the trust deed based on an inspection of the metadata of the documents submitted by the self-proclaimed Bitcoin creator, dated October 23, 2012.
According to the details at the time, the document contains copyright elements that could not have existed earlier than 2015 — two years after Kleiman’s death.
Many in the crypto space continue to dispute Wright’s claim of being Satoshi Nakamoto — the creator of Bitcoin.
Craig Wright has even taken to the courts, suing those who publicly debunk his claim and label him a fraud. As recently reported by Bitcoinist, Bitcoin podcaster Peter McCormack released his defense in the libel suit brought against him by Wright, calling it a “waste of time.”
Do you think Wright could face perjury charges for these forgeries? Let us know in the comments below.
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