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Associated Press

The family of a programmer who was found dead in 2013 has filed a US$5 billion lawsuit against Craig Wright, the man who has claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto, creator of the digital currency bitcoin.
The family of Dave Kleiman said in the lawsuit, which was filed in a federal court in Florida, that the two men jointly owned roughly 1.1 million bitcoin and a company. 
However, they claim, when Kleiman died Wright backdated contracts to transfer the ownership of the coins and intellectual property to him.
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Kleiman’s family claims they are owed at least half of the bitcoin mined by the two men. The estimated value of Wright and Kleiman’s bitcoin holdings is roughly US$11.6 billion.
A bullet hole in his mattress was found. The exact details surrounding his death remain unknown
Lawsuit’s description of how Dave Kleiman’s body was found in 2013
The suit also provides a grisly description of Kleiman’s body: “His body was decomposing, there were wheelchair tracks of blood and fecal matter, open bottles of alcohol and a loaded handgun next to him. 
“A bullet hole in his mattress was found. The exact details surrounding his death remain unknown.”
Wright did not immediately respond to a request for comment through his company nChain.
Wright and Klein – who was left in a wheelchair following a 1995 motorbike accident – became friends online in 2003 thanks to a shared interest in cryptography,﻿ The Telegraph reported.
Five years later, bitcoin was launched by “Satoshi Nakomoto” – an unknown figure whom Wright, an Australian, claimed to be in 2016.
In 2007, a year before bitcoin launched, Kleiman wrote to Wright, saying “I have been working on a new form of electronic money. Bit cash, Bitcoin … [y]ou are always there for me Dave. I want you to be part of it all” the lawsuit claims.
“It is unclear whether Craig, Dave or both created bitcoin,” the court filing says, adding that both men kept it a secret from their families for reasons unknown.
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“It is undeniable, however, that Craig and Dave were involved in bitcoin from its inception and that they both accumulated a vast wealth of bitcoins from 2009 through 2013.”


Kleiman died in 2013, the suit says, and months afterwards Wright told the dead man’s brother, Ira, about their involvement in bitcoin. Ira said Wright told him Kleiman had sold his part of the company for stock in an Australian company worth “millions”. 
Wright said he also planned to sell his stock in the same company, but fled to London when the Australian tax office began an investigation, leaving it to go bankrupt, the suit claims.
Last year, Wright publicly claimed to be “Satoshi Nakomoto” and promised “extraordinary proof” of the claim.
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However, in May of that year he made a U-turn, writing: “I believed that I could do this. I believed that I could put the years of anonymity and hiding behind me.
“But, as the events of this week unfolded and I prepared to publish the proof of access to the earliest keys, I broke. I do not have the courage. I cannot.”
Many of those following the story said that his backing down was proof that he was not, in fact, Nakomoto.
Jerry Brito, executive director of Washington-based digital currency advocacy group Coin Center was one of them.
Speaking at the time, he said: “The possibility that Wright is Satoshi will always exist, but given the amount of evidence calling that into doubt, I think one would be foolish to give that possibility much weight.
“He’s provided no cryptographic evidence verifiable by the public, and many of his answers sound plain fishy … Today’s statement on his blog only further tarnishes his credibility.”


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Bitcoin

Man who claims to have created bitcoin is sued for US$5 billion by family of hacker who was found dead

Craig Wright (seen in a publicity photo from his now-defunct website) is being sued by the family of a deceased hacker who said he robbed the man of a fortune in bitcoin. Wright has claimed to be the inventor of the cryptocurrency. Photo: DrCraigWright.net

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Craig Stephen Wright in an image taken from a video appearance at a bitcoin conference in Las Vegas in October. Wright, who appeared via video link, said he was in London. Photo: YouTube 

Craig Stephen Wright's profile picture on a now-defunct Twitter account. Photo: Twitter

Australian who said he invented bitcoin, retracts claim after refusing to prove it

This framegrab made available by the BBC shows creator of the Bitcoin, Craig Wright speaking in London. Australian Craig Wright, long rumoured to be associated with the digital currency Bitcoin, has publicly identified himself as its creator, a claim that would end one of the biggest mysteries in the tech world. Photo: AP

(FILES) This file photo taken on June 17, 2014 shows bitcoin medals in Washington. Australian entrepreneur Craig Wright on May 2, 2016 identified himself as the creator of Bitcoin, following years of speculation about who invented the pioneering digital currency. Wright was identified by three media outlets -- the BBC, The Economist and GQ magazine -- and posted a blog on the subject on his website. / AFP PHOTO / KAREN BLEIER

File - This is a Oct. 16, 2015 file photo of a Bitcoin ATM. An Australian man long thought to be associated with the digital currency Bitcoin has publicly identified himself as its creator. BBC News said Monday, May 2, 2016 that Craig Wright told the media outlet he is the man previously known by the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. The computer scientist, inventor and academic says he launched the currency in 2009 with the help of others. (Dominic Lipinski/PA via AP, File) UNITED KINGDOM OUT NO SALES NO ARCHIVE

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It now takes 556 days of computing and a hefty electricity bill to mine a single bitcoin. Photo: EPA

A Bitcoin ATM is placed in a public area in Hong Kong, Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017. Bitcoin is the world's most popular virtual currency. Such currencies are not tied to a bank or government and allow users to spend money anonymously. They are basically lines of computer code that are digitally signed each time they are traded. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

A OFO bike-sharing bicycles are seen parked on the street in the Futian district in Shenzhen. 24OCT17 SCMP / Roy Issa

A bitcoin miner at a bitcoin mine in Sichuan Province, China, on September 26, 2016. Miners can check a machine's condition and operations using phones and personal computers. Photo: EPA

Members of Japan's idol group "Virtual Currency Girls" wearing cryptocurrency-themed masks pose after performing in their debut stage event in Tokyo, Japan, January 12, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Cameron (L) and Tyler Winklevoss are seen at the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, Massachusetts in this October 23, 2010 file photo. The twin brothers who accused Facebook Inc and its founder Mark Zuckerberg of stealing their idea for the social networking website lost their bid to have a federal appeals court void a settlement of their claims. The identical twin Winklevosses were classmates of Zuckerberg at Harvard University and are rowers who competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Their feud with Zuckerberg was dramatized in the 2010 film "The Social Network." Picture taken October 23, 2010. REUTERS/Adam Hunger/Files (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT ENTERTAINMENT SCI TECH CRIME LAW BUSINESS ROWING)

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro(C) speaks in front of a computer used to mine crypto currency Ethereum at the International Science and Technology Fair (FITEC) in Caracas on December 3, 2017. Venezuela is creating a digital currency to combat a financial blockade by the United States, President Nicolas Maduro announced Sunday. The Petro will be backed by Venezuela's oil and gas reserves and its gold and diamond holdings according to Maduro. / AFP PHOTO / PRESIDENCIA

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Dave Kleiman’s family say that he and Craig Wright both helped found bitcoin – and that Wright owes them half of the $11.6 billion fortune they made


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