A court filing indicates that bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network intended to take legal action against cryptocurrency blogger and Celsius lender Tiffany Fong for leaking inside information.
looks like they want to/wanted to even though they owe me $ insane. pic.twitter.com/0EPxVZ6e3f
—Tiffany Fong (@TiffanyFong_) April 14, 2023
It seems they want/wanted even though they owe me a lot of money.
A screenshot Shared by Fong shows that he currently has approximately $119,000 worth of crypto assets, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and Polygon (MATIC) locked in Celsius, after the firm paused withdrawals in mid-June 2022, before declaring file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy the following month.
Since then, he has been actively reporting on the bankruptcy case as it unfolded via YouTube and other social media platforms. On multiple occasions, Fong has shared leaked inside information, which she says was privately provided to her by disgruntled former Celsius employees.
In a sixth monthly itemized statement of attorney’s fees from Celsius, Kirkland & Ellis International, filed with the bankruptcy court for the Southern District of New York on April 14, the firm reported that it had worked 77 billable hours worth approximately $72,000 in an invoice titled “Tiffany Fong Litigation.”
Paralegal Ken Sturek billed creditors for hours of “work” spent looking through @TiffanyFong_‘s Social Media and then outsourcing the voyeurism to @FTIConsulting.
Ken should consider becoming a reporter for the @nypost if his law gig doesn’t pan out. pic.twitter.com/1Bl16dgmgk
—Cam Crews (@camcrews) April 14, 2023
Paralegal Ken Sturek billed creditors for hours of “work” spent reviewing Tiffany Fong’s social media, then outsourced the voyeurism to FTI Consulting.
Ken should consider becoming a reporter for the NY Post if being a lawyer doesn’t work out.
The firm began work on this case on January 26, and the last recorded work hours were reported on February 6.
Although no concrete legal action has yet been filed, the file shows that Celsius’ legal counsel specifically investigated the leaked information that Fong reported through his social media accounts.
In the filing, the Celsius law firm also noted that it was drafting cease and desist letters for Fong and a motion to compel, which typically asks courts to enforce a request for information relevant to a case.
To cite a few examples, Fong has reported leaks of inside information regarding company offers for Celsius assets, alleged audio recordings of private company discussions, and alleged transaction activities by executives such as the former CEO and founder; Alex Mashinsky.
They tried real hard to hide it only giving it a brief note and then hiding in in the supportive docs. https://t.co/OMgyD95Itz
—Keith (@ChazzonKe) April 14, 2023
They tried very hard to hide it with a short note and then hid it in the supporting documents.
Speaking to Cointelegraph, Fong did not mince words, alleging that Celsius is “using client funds to try to sue a creditor” over something that she says is not a legal issue to begin with:
“It’s a lie, I have not done anything illegal. I am not an employee, so I have not broken an NDA [acuerdo de confidencialidad]. I am a creditor, and I am owed 3.1 BTC and 11.6 ETH.”
Cointelegraph has also reached out to Celsius for comment on the potential litigation, but has not heard back by press time.
Adding fuel to the fire, Fong is currently in New York to attend the 2023 NYC NFT event. On April 15, he posted on Twitter that she had met Alex Mashinsky and his wife, Krissy Mashinsky, on the street and had approached them.
LMAO @mashinsky pic.twitter.com/4SarjCAXvY
—Tiffany Fong (@TiffanyFong_) April 14, 2023
A video posted on Twitter also shows the Mashinsky couple hastily walking away as other cryptocurrency content creators such as BitBoy Crypto (Ben Armstrong) walk up next to Fong in an attempt to engage them in conversation.
At https://t.co/yX3oBFOarc, @Bitboy_Crypto and @TiffanyFong_ met with @Mashinsky and @KrissyMashinsky.
(Filmed by @JeffTutorials) pic.twitter.com/5Vw85Jqtl1— Celsians (@CelsiansNetwork) April 14, 2023
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