Crypto influencer Ben Armstrong, aka BitBoy Crypto’s lawyers, served Erling Mengshoei (Atozy) the official lawsuit at his home on Aug. 23, 2022.
Atozy, who believes plaintiff BitBoy’s lawsuit alleging defamation and emotional distress is ‘frivolous,’ said he would crowdfund his legal expenses.
BitBoy is claiming at least $75,000 in damages after Atozy posted a video nine months ago in which he accused Armstrong of scamming his YouTube fan base, calling him a ‘dirtbag’ several times.
In Dec. 2021, Atozy received a cease-and-desist order at his home. Eight months later, the YouTuber arrived home with his girlfriend to find a strange vehicle parked outside. A man with a lawsuit draft approached Mengshoei, advising him to take receipt of the papers, else he would return with the sheriff.
Three days later, a courier service delivered the same draft. After that, Atozy was accosted by journalists asking for comment on a lawsuit that had been officially filed against him. On Aug. 23, he was served with official papers confirming the lawsuit.
Sued for expressing an opinion
Atozy believes it is “insane” that he could be sued for expressing an opinion in the United States of America.
He has reached out to his Twitter community to help fund his legal battle with Armstrong. The case could cost him from $50,000 to $500,000, he said in a YouTube video. In a Twitter thread, he posted his bitcoin and ETH wallet addresses. He said he would send any leftover crypto to the think-tank Coin Center. He warned his community to be aware of scammers impersonating him and only to send funds to the listed addresses. He concluded that sharing the video and creating memes would also help his cause.
At press time, he had already received an offer of $100K from Twitter user @Cobie.
Suit cites BitBoy’s emotional distress
The suit laid out BitBoy’s credentials in helping his fans understand suitable cryptocurrencies to invest in, calling him an “industry-leading” cryptocurrency commentator. With the stage set, the suit then addresses how Atozy’s comments attacked BitBoy’s credentials, undermining his credibility as an industry expert. Atozy’s video called into question a ‘PAMP’ cryptocurrency token BitBoy was promoting in 2020, which Atozy believed was a scam. According to Atozy, the token was advertised as one that could only go up in price. Soon after, the project promoters ‘rug-pulled,’ a term used to describe a project where creators promote a token to drive up its market cap and then make off with the cryptocurrency, leaving the token holders to pick up the pieces.
The suit alleges that Atozy’s remarks caused emotional distress and bouts of depression for Armstrong as he came to terms with the impact Atozy’s video would have on his future business ventures and reputation.
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