Ben Armstrong, aka ‘BitBoy Crypto’, failed to appear in court ordered by a federal magistrate judge in response to the YouTuber’s alleged harassment of the lawyer in a lawsuit involving various influencers in the cryptocurrency space.
Judge Melissa Damian had ordered Armstrong and his attorney to appear on April 20 to address the YouTuber’s “harassment of the plaintiffs’ attorney.” However, Armstrong openly mocked the order on social media, instead tweeting photos of himself on a Bahamian beach.
I am supposed to be in court today.
I’m not. why?
Because I don’t give AF
RECKLESSNESS SPONSORED BY https://t.co/RtFomcGS5v pic.twitter.com/t9XqsNd6da
—Ben Armstrong (@Bitboy_Crypto) April 20, 2023
According to multiple reports, Judge Damian warned Armstrong’s lawyer – who was present, as ordered – that she would issue a warrant for the YouTuber’s arrest if he did not appear by April 24. The harassment case against Armstrong went ahead without him, as the judge reportedly referred the matter to the FBI.
People affected by the FTX collapse filed a class action lawsuit against Armstrong and several other YouTubers in March for allegedly promoting fraud through the exchange “without disclosing that they received monetary compensation for it.” Moskowitz, the lead attorney representing the plaintiffs in that case, claimed that Armstrong harassed the legal team with “endless phone calls, tweets, and emails,” “vulgarity-filled” voicemails, and social media posts suggesting threats. .
During the April 20 trial, YouTuber followed mocking the harassment case and Moskowitz. However, said that “I wasn’t flying by the seat of [sus] pants,” implying that his absence from court may have been on the advice of a lawyer. He reportedly offered to appear before the judge in May.
As part of the judge’s order on April 20, Armstrong will not be allowed to tweet about Moskowitz and the plaintiffs in the case. He had previously likened the attorney to an ambulance chaser and a pig, as well as largely dismissing the basis of the lawsuit. Cointelegraph reached out to Moskowitz for comment, but did not hear back by press time.
Armstrong, a cryptocurrency influencer with more than a million Twitter followers and 1.4 million YouTube subscribers, is no stranger to online controversies. He has insulted personalities such as the president of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, and the president of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Gary Gensler, in addition to other people who influence the policy of the sector.
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