Australian computer scientist Craig Wright is facing potential criminal charges for claiming to be Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. The High Court Justice James Mellor has referred Wright’s misconduct to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for consideration on charging him with perjury and forgery of documents. This comes after Wright provided false testimony during a trial, where Judge Mellor found that he had lied to enhance his false claim of being Satoshi Nakamoto.
Wright has been involved in a series of legal battles, including a case against the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), where he was sued to prove that he was not the creator of Bitcoin. Despite his persistent claims of writing the Bitcoin white paper, the judge ruled in March that Wright’s claims were false. He failed to provide evidence of sending bitcoin (BTC) in the network’s early days, leading the judge to conclude that he was not the true creator of the cryptocurrency.
In addition to perjury, Wright has been found guilty of grand-scale forgery by Judge Mellor. The judge stated that Wright had lied extensively to support his claim of being the Bitcoin creator, which led to the referral to the CPS for possible criminal proceedings. Judge Mellor expressed no doubt in referring the case to the CPS and highlighted the seriousness of Wright’s actions, including forgery of documents.
As the case progresses, Judge Mellor has issued certain orders and injunctions against Wright. For the next six months, Wright must post a court notice on his website, Slack, and X accounts, informing the public of the court’s ruling. He is also prohibited from initiating further legal proceedings related to the case and from threatening legal action as he has done in the past.
The legal battle surrounding Craig Wright’s claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto has taken a serious turn, with potential criminal charges on the horizon. His false claims and fraudulent activities have not gone unnoticed by the justice system, leading to serious consequences for his actions.