Monday, May 13, 2019
Cryptocurrency Investor Terpin Wins $75.8M Judgement In Hacking Case
Michael Terpin, a cryptocurrency investor with close ties to the Los Angeles technology community, has won a $75.8M judgement as part of a lawsuit over a cryptocurrency hacking, Terpin said on Monday. According to a spokesperson for Terpin, the win came as part of a cryptocurrency case filed in January of 2018. According to Terpin, he had close to $24 million stolen by a ring of Internet thieves, which was facilitated by poor controls by AT&T, which provided his mobile phone SIM card to the theieves. The judgement came against alleged 21-year-old "Bitcoin bandit" Nick Truglia. Terpin still has a case against AT&T for enabling Truglia and others to steal Bitcoin from Terpin. Michael Terpin is an early investor in Bitcoin. Terpin founded Marketwired, which he sold to the NASDAQ, founded crowdfunding firm Direct IPO, and also is behind PR firm Transform PR; however, he's best known for his success and involvement in the cryptocurrency market, having founded angel group BitAngels. Terpin--along with a number of other LA's early cryptocurrency investors--now has a home in Puerto Rico.