Tech

Celcius reportedly prepping litigation against creditor for leaking internal info

04/15/2023
Bitcoin Ethereum News

A court filing indicates that bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network either intended to, or is potentially looking at taking legal action against crypto blogger and Celsius creditor Tiffany Fong over leaking internal information.

A screenshot shared by Fong shows that she currently has roughly $119,000 worth of crypto assets such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Polygon (MATIC) locked on Celsius, after the firm paused withdrawals in mid-June 2022, prior to filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy the following month.

Since then, she has been actively reporting on the bankruptcy case as it unfolds via YouTube and other social media platforms. On multiple occasions, Fong has shared leaked internal information, which she claims was given to her privately by disgruntled former Celsius employees.

In an itemized sixth monthly fee statement from Celsius’ counsel Kirkland & Ellis International submitted to the bankruptcy court of the Southern District of New York on April 14, the law firm reported that it had worked 77 billable hours worth roughly $72,000 on an invoice titled “Tiffany Fong litigation.”

The law firm’s work on this case started on Jan. 26, with the last recorded hours of work being reported on Feb. 6.

While a concrete legal action doesn’t appear to have been formulated as of yet, the filing shows Celsius’ legal counsel was specifically looking into the leaked information Fong reported on via her social media accounts.

In the filing, Celsius law firm also outlined that it was drafting cease and desist letters for Fong, and also a motion to compel, which generally asks courts to enforce a request for information relevant to a case.

To name a few examples, Fong has reported on leaked internal information relating to company bids on Celsius assets, alleged audio of private company discussions and alleged transaction activity of execs such as former CEO and founder Alex Mashinsky.

Speaking with Cointelegraph, Fong didn’t mince her words as she alleged that Celsius is “using customer funds in an attempt to sue a creditor” over something that she asserts isn’t a legal issue to begin with:

“It’s bullshit I didn’t do anything illegal. I’m not an employee so I didn’t break an NDA [non-disclosure agreement]. I’m a creditor and they owe me 3.1 BTC & 11.6 ETH.”

Cointelegraph has also reached out to Celsius for comment on the potential litigation, and will update this article if the company responds.

Related: Celsius Network to make April 12 filing, including info on voting for restructuring plan

Adding fuel to the fire, Fong is currently in New York attending the 2023 NYC NFT event, and posting on Twitter on April 15, she revealed that found Alex Mashinsky and his wife Krissy Mashinsky out in public, and approached them.

A video posted to Twitter also shows the Mashinsky couple hurriedly walking away as other crypto content creators such as BitBoy Crypto (Ben Armstrong) approach alongside Fong in an attempt to engage them in conversation.

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