CoinLenders Lawsuit

[DumbFruit]

Update: Since I have settled with TradeFortress for 199.383 bitcoins, I no longer have any standing in a case against him. If someone wants to take over, then please let me know and I'll point people in your direction.


With TradeFortress' alarming lack of transparency and direction, coupled with his highly suspicious actions surrounding the alleged hack on October 23rd, I've decided that I want to start legal proceedings against him.

At this time, it seems that a class action lawsuit would be most appropriate, but I am open to the idea of pressing criminal charges.

If anyone in this forum knows of a good lawyer that could handle this case competently and at a competitive price, please let me know. If you have any other relevant information or advice, kindly post it below.

[Johanna]

With TradeFortress' alarming lack of transparency and direction, coupled with his highly suspicious actions surrounding the alleged hack on October 23rd, I've decided that I want to start legal proceedings against him.

At this time, it seems that a class action lawsuit would be most appropriate, but I am open to the idea of pressing criminal charges.

If anyone in this forum knows of a good lawyer that could handle this case competently and at a competitive price, please let me know. If you have any other relevant information or advice, kindly post it below.

If you are an American that has a significant deposit at CoinLenders and would like to join me in litigation proceedings against TradeFortress please drop me an email at this address;
USA.Legal.Coinlenders@gmail.com

I though TF is going to payback everyone the principle for coinlenders?

[stenkross]

I though TF is going to payback everyone the principle for coinlenders?

Nobody knows.
information regarding how much/when/if CL depositors will get btc back is nonexistent at this point.

[ranlo]

/following

[frankenmint]

/following

Have you checked your Signature lately...WHY ARE YOU STILL PUSHING INPUTS???

[halfawake]

I have about 4.97 bitcoins in Coinlenders, a bit more than that if you count all the digits, but that's roughly the amount.  Can you give an estimate on how much the lawsuit would cost per person?  Given the current price of a bitcoin, I'd be willing to spend a couple hundred US dollars on the lawsuit, but if I'd have to pay much more than that, it'd get to be a large enough percentage that I'm inclined to just write it off as a dumb investment and expect not to see the money again.

[ranlo]

/following

Have you checked your Signature lately...WHY ARE YOU STILL PUSHING INPUTS???

I have all signatures disabled, so wasn't something I even thought about. Fixed.

[dwdoc]

Below is an email from an attorney in Sydney who I found through on online search so I cannot personally vouch for him or his law firm although his resume looks respectible.


Date: Fri, 22 Nov 2013 17:36:54 +1100
Subject: RE: Action Required:
 

Dear [dwdoc]:
 
Thank you for your email.
 
Having regard to the cost of pursuing a claim for USD 100,000 or so in this jurisdiction (which, frankly, would be out of all proportion to the amount in dispute as commercial litigation is very expensive here), I think that it would be much better to explore the possibility of bringing a class action together with other complainants from the bitcoin community.  Although there are differences, class actions work in Australia in a way which is broadly similar to how they work in the USA.
 
I should also mention that lawyers in this jurisdiction are prohibited by law from acting on a contingency fee basis (i.e. to enter into a costs agreement whereby the amount payable to the law practice was calculated by reference to the amount of any award or settlement that may be recovered in any proceedings to which the agreement related).
 
However, some firms in this jurisdiction (ours not being one) are content to act on a “no win, no fee” basis.
 
Class actions here are often financed by litigation funders, which will pay all of the costs of the action but will expect a “success fee” which is typically between 25% and 45% of what is recovered.  The leading Australian litigation funder is IMF:
 
http://www.imf.com.au/
 
We know the senior personnel at IMF (including their Chairman and Managing Director) very well and we could facilitate an introduction if you were able to assemble sufficient other complainants to get a class action together.  In that regard, one would normally need at least 7 plaintiffs in order to commence a class action but IMF operates at the big end of the market and is generally interested only in claims worth $5 million or more.  There may, however, be other litigation funders who would be interested.
 
Regards,


EDIT: Attorney has asked me to remove public display of his contact information at this early stage until level of interest is determined. PM me for details if desired.




Thoughts? Alternatives?

If this lawsuit is an option for you then please alert gaston909 or post here. He is keeping track of CL balances due.
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=86471

[shangata]

332.2162344:CL

I am interested  
Thank you!

EDIT:
Just read trough the site of imf. They do work in asia as well.
It won't cost if there is no success.
They will get 25-45% success fee of the recovered amount.
If they freeze the assets that do belong to him and maybe the btc adresses which we can figure out are his.
Don't know how much they know about working on btc though.
if WE ALL WORK TOGETHER we are at about 5m aud.

I think that sounds better than waiting for TF to maybe talk again one day.. and it wont cost if there is no refund

[katie.mckinley]

8.7 Balance and I'd be interested...if they take an amount from the winning that'd be alright I'd get 4 BTC back instead of 1.1 or whatever TF would give, though I would settle if he'll ever contact me back >.> I'm in a bad spot now for that BTC which I wasn't in earlier

[Bitcoin Scammer]

AWESOME lol Can't wait to see this down the road.

[WHEELERSCW20000]

I'm in!

[Equilux]

I'm in aswell; 75.98128219 still in CL

[HeRetiK]

Watching.

[bradyon]

I´m interested in going ahead if that´s the way to recover as much as possible. My total balance on CL is 226.17055261 (1 BTC is frozen on a CD).

Unfortunately I´ve no money now to pay in advance if neccesary (in fact I´ll have to get a loan in the next weeks to maintain my job). Nevertheless if is possible to start without having to pay in advance, I´ll be pleased to provide as much information as needed for the legal action. I´m Spanish, would be neccessary to me to eventually travel to Australia?

Thanks.

[The 4ner]

Should those with a single BTC at CL even bother with this?

[shangata]

Yes everyone counts. The more there are in, the more power we have. And since it doesn't cost anything until there is a refund it should not be a problem for anyone to join.
The haircut would be much better than the one TF was offering btw.
..so ..yes!

Should those with a single BTC at CL even bother with this?

[gene6098]

299.03625778 BTC  in CL

[Bitlend]

Below is an email from an attorney in Sydney who I found through on online search so I cannot personally vouch for him or his law firm although his resume looks respectible.


Date: Fri, 22 Nov 2013 17:36:54 +1100
Subject: RE: Action Required:
 

Dear [dwdoc]:
 
Thank you for your email.
 
Having regard to the cost of pursuing a claim for USD 100,000 or so in this jurisdiction (which, frankly, would be out of all proportion to the amount in dispute as commercial litigation is very expensive here), I think that it would be much better to explore the possibility of bringing a class action together with other complainants from the bitcoin community.  Although there are differences, class actions work in Australia in a way which is broadly similar to how they work in the USA.
 
I should also mention that lawyers in this jurisdiction are prohibited by law from acting on a contingency fee basis (i.e. to enter into a costs agreement whereby the amount payable to the law practice was calculated by reference to the amount of any award or settlement that may be recovered in any proceedings to which the agreement related).
 
However, some firms in this jurisdiction (ours not being one) are content to act on a “no win, no fee” basis.
 
Class actions here are often financed by litigation funders, which will pay all of the costs of the action but will expect a “success fee” which is typically between 25% and 45% of what is recovered.  The leading Australian litigation funder is IMF:
 
http://www.imf.com.au/
 
We know the senior personnel at IMF (including their Chairman and Managing Director) very well and we could facilitate an introduction if you were able to assemble sufficient other complainants to get a class action together.  In that regard, one would normally need at least 7 plaintiffs in order to commence a class action but IMF operates at the big end of the market and is generally interested only in claims worth $5 million or more.  There may, however, be other litigation funders who would be interested.
 
Regards,


EDIT: Attorney has asked me to remove public display of his contact information at this early stage until level of interest is determined. PM me for details if desired.




Thoughts? Alternatives?

If this lawsuit is an option for you then please alert gaston909 or post here. He is keeping track of CL balances due.
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=86471

IMF are very good at what they do and are a listed entity on the ASX (Australian stock exchange)

Im unsure if they would be willing to take on this case, as the inherent issue with BTC is the anonymity of accounts, therefore IMF may not deem this class action as worthwhile and the likelihood of a result low.  

Also, IMF usually deal in class actions where by there is sufficient capital to return (normally against a company with listed shares or the like)

That being said, as a backup or two pronged approach, you could enter into an arrangement with a debt collection agency in Australia as well.

As this is a debt collection type situation, most will work on a no return/ no fee approach.

Have actually spoken to a debt collection agency on your behalf just to see their feelings on the matter at hand.

They are happy to work on a no win/no fee basis and would initially find out if TF has assets/shares, anything of substance by doing some background checks.

At least this way you will have some idea what you are dealing with and is/does he have any assets!

If this is a way you may wish to pursue, please feel free to let me know and I will put you in touch with the guy I have spoken to.

He said initially he would require a) List of who is a creditor, amount owed, contact details etc. and b) document of what is known about TF, whereabouts, age, contact numbers, blockchain numbers used etc.


PS: Have not had any response from TF regarding purchase of CL, so we have decided to bring our own product to market over the coming weeks.

Here if you need any help, cheers.



 

[Bobbycoolguy]

Hey I have 80.3 btc In coin lenders
No reply from tf since the generic emails