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Ben 'Bitboy' Armstrong Calls Himself a Victim in Latest Court Filing

The lawsuit claims former colleagues took control of Armstrong's account on X.com "for the express purpose of publicly harassing, embarrassing, and intimidating" him.

Updated Nov 12, 2023, 11:11 a.m. Published Nov 7, 2023, 9:52 a.m.
16:9 crop Ben Armstrong (Ben Armstrong/YouTube)
16:9 crop Ben Armstrong (Ben Armstrong/YouTube)

The crypto YouTuber Ben Armstrong, formerly known as Bitboy, has sued former colleagues over an allegedly stolen Lamborghini and alleged racketeering activities involving threats and a conspiracy to deprive him of the vehicle, according to a filing in Cobb County, Georgia.

Armstrong was previously ousted from his media company, BitBoy Crypto, following a decision by the company that produced the channel, as per an August announcement, which led to him dropping the 'Bitboy' moniker.

This is the second suit Armstrong has filed against his former colleagues.

(Superior Court of Cobb County, Georgia)
(Superior Court of Cobb County, Georgia)

The suit, filed in the Superior Court of Cobb County on Nov. 1, lists six individuals as defendants: Timothy Shedd Jr., CEO of Hit Network (the company that owned Armstrong's former channel); Timothy Shedd Sr., CFO of Hit Network; Justin Williams, CEO of Voomio; Allison Fiveash, a frequent contributor on Hit Network; Nickolas Dimondi, Hit Network's head of content and Carlos Diaz, an associate of the company.

The lawsuit claims that the defendants took control of Armstrong's account on X.com (formerly Twitter) "for the express purpose of publicly harassing, embarrassing, and intimidating" him.

"Defendant Diaz used this X account to leak private conversations between Armstrong and Defendant Diaz, which had been surreptitiously recorded without Armstrong’s knowledge or consent; and to post false and defamatory statements accusing Armstrong of illicit drug use," the lawsuit reads.

In the filing, Armstrong alleges that he was coerced into transferring the title of his 2018 Lamborghini Huracan Performante to Diaz under threat of violence, and despite repeated requests, Diaz refused to return the vehicle. Armstrong complied with the demands due to fear, according to the suit.

"Defendant Diaz warned Armstrong that he had killed people before, and implied that the same fate could befall Armstrong, if Armstrong failed to comply," Armstrong claims in the lawsuit.

"Armstrong is not aware of the Lamborghini’s current location or ownership status," the document reads.

Armstrong also alleges that the defendants engaged in a civil conspiracy and violated the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act by conspiring to unlawfully convert his Lamborghini and extort money from him through a pattern of racketeering activities.

None of the claims or allegations have been proven in court.

"The entire complaint is laughable on its face and has no merit in court," Dimondi said, speaking with Decrypt. “This type of bullying is what we have come to expect from Ben Armstrong."

Timothy "TJ" Shedd Jr responded to the lawsuit by telling CoinDesk that "it's a joke."

UPDATE (Nov. 7, 13:43 UTC): Adds quote from Timothy Shedd.

Sam Reynolds

Sam Reynolds is a senior reporter based in Taipei. Sam was part of the CoinDesk team that won the 2023 Gerald Loeb award in the breaking news category for coverage of FTX's collapse. Prior to CoinDesk, he was a reporter with Blockworks and a semiconductor analyst with IDC.

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