Celsius reportedly prepping litigation against creditor for leaking internal info
Creditor Tiffany Fong argues she hasn’t done anything wrong, asserting that she didn’t break any nondisclosure agreements by reporting on the leaked information.
A court filing indicates that bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network either intended to or is potentially considering legal action against crypto blogger and Celsius creditor Tiffany Fong over leaking internal information.
looks like they want to/wanted to even though they owe me $ insane. pic.twitter.com/0EPxVZ6e3f
— Tiffany Fong (@TiffanyFong_) April 14, 2023
A screenshot shared by Fong shows that she currently has roughly $119,000 worth of crypto assets, such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Polygon (MATIC) locked on Celsius, after the firm paused withdrawals in mid-June 2022, before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy the following month.
Since then, she has been actively reporting on the bankruptcy case as it unfolds via YouTube and other social media platforms. On multiple occasions, Fong has shared leaked internal information, which she claims was given to her privately by disgruntled former Celsius employees.
In an itemized sixth monthly fee statement from Celsius’ counsel Kirkland & Ellis International submitted to the bankruptcy court for the Southern District of New York on April 14, the law firm reported that it had worked 77 billable hours worth roughly $72,000 on 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
The law firm’s work on this case started on Jan. 26, with the last recorded hours of work reported on Feb. 6.
While a concrete legal action hasn’t been formulated yet, the filing shows Celsius’ legal counsel specifically looked into the leaked information Fong reported on via her social media accounts.
In the filing, Celsius’ law firm also outlined that it was drafting cease and desist letters for Fong and a motion to compel, which generally asks courts to enforce a request for information relevant to a case.
To name a few examples, Fong has reported on leaked internal information relating to company bids on Celsius assets, alleged audio of private company discussions, and alleged transaction activity of executives such as 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
Speaking with Cointelegraph, Fong didn’t mince her words as she alleged that Celsius is “using customer funds in an attempt to sue a creditor” over something that she asserts isn’t a legal issue, to begin with:
“It’s bullshit, I didn’t do anything illegal. I’m not an employee, so I didn’t break an NDA [nondisclosure agreement]. I’m a creditor, and they owe me 3.1 BTC and 11.6 ETH.”
Cointelegraph has also reached out to Celsius for comment on the potential litigation but received no response by publication time.
Related: Celsius Network to make April 12 filing, including info on voting for restructuring plan
Adding fuel to the fire, Fong is currently in New York attending the 2023 NYC NFT event. Posting on Twitter on April 15, she revealed that she found Alex Mashinsky and his wife, Krissy Mashinsky, out in public and approached them.
LMAO @mashinsky pic.twitter.com/4SarjCAXvY
— Tiffany Fong (@TiffanyFong_) April 14, 2023
A video posted to Twitter also shows the Mashinsky couple hurriedly walking away as other crypto content creators, such as BitBoy Crypto (Ben Armstrong), approach alongside 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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