Michael Prime, a man who faked his identity, claimed that the FBI wrongfully wiped a hard drive with 3,443 Bitcoin (BTC), worth over $345 million. However, the US appeals court rejected the lawsuit against the government.
A three-judge panel denied Michael Prime’s claims that the FBI wiped out his Bitcoin wallet key. He tried to sue the government over the loss of the key to access almost 3,443 Bitcoin, which is worth $345 million, an amount that was previously unclaimed under his list of assets.
Keep your wallet safe
In 2023, the story of James Howells shared another case of lost access to his cryptowallet, as he accidentally disposed of the hard drive containing over $900 million worth of Bitcoin.
Headlines also spoke of Estonian banker Rain Lõhmus, who had lost access to a massive stash of Ethereum bought from the 2014 presale. The NBA star Kevin Durant was locked out of his cryptowallet for years, until he recently gained access back on Coinbase.
Chainanalysis had reported in 2018 that almost 3.7 million BTC were permanently lost, which could account for over 17.5% of its total supply. While Glassnode data stated that 1.46 million BTC, almost 7% of its total 21 million supply, is permanently lost.
Prime’s claims rejected by the court
In July 2022, after being released from prison, Prime requested the court to return the hard drive containing his Bitcoin. However, the FBI had already wiped it out as part of its standard procedures. Prime claimed this action to be illegal and sued the government.
“For years, Prime denied that he had much Bitcoin at all. And Bitcoin was not on the list when he sought to recover missing assets after his release from prison,” the judges stated in an official statement, “Only later did Prime claim to be a Bitcoin tycoon.”
According to reports, he had changed his claims about his holdings multiple times, from no holdings to approximately 1,500 Bitcoins, moving to 3,500 Bitcoins. To this, Prime responded that his claims were based on what Bitcoin was worth at that time.
The court responded to Prime by stating that the Bitcoin holding was never listed on his declared assets, adding that “even if the Bitcoin existed, and that’s a big if, awarding Prime an equitable remedy here would be inequitable.”
However, the Orlando Federal Court denied the request and responded that it had already been destroyed, and called his statements “preposterous” as Bitcoin’s worth in February 2020 was over $10,000.
