Dr Wright’s explanations are ‘absurd’ and ‘plainly forged’ Judge states in written judgment Dr Wright’s explanations are ‘absurd’ and ‘plainly forged’ Judge states in written judgment
Judge Mellor issued a lengthy 231 page judgment on Dr. Craig Wright's fraud today, categorically refuting his claim to be Satoshi.
2 min read
Updated: May. 20, 2024 at 11:21 am UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
The full written judgment in Dr. Craig Wright vs. COPA was released this morning, May 20, including damning indictments of Dr. Wright’s actions during the trial.
“Dr Wright lied to the Court extensively and repeatedly. Most of his lies related to the documents he had forged which purported to support his claim. All his lies and forged documents were in support of his biggest lie: his claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto”
The judge identified numerous instances where Dr. Wright forged documents to support his claim of being Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin. According to the judgment, Dr. Wright’s narrative was riddled with inconsistencies and fabrications, severely undermining his credibility.
The judgment highlighted that if Dr. Wright’s claims were valid, he would be an extraordinarily unfortunate individual beset by a series of implausible coincidences and conspiracies. However, the court determined that the simpler and more plausible explanation is that Dr. Wright has been dishonest for years, fabricating evidence to support his assertions.
The judge pointed out that Dr. Wright’s extensive fabrications and forgeries were exposed during the trial.
“These fabrications and forgeries were exposed in the evidence which I received during the Trial. For that reason, this Judgment contains considerable technical and other detail which is required to expose the true scale of his mendacious campaign to prove he was/is Satoshi Nakamoto”.
The detailed judgment outlines the technical and other forms of evidence that revealed the extent of his deceptive campaign to convince the court and the public of his claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto.
Ultimately, the court concluded that the evidence overwhelmingly demonstrated that Dr. Wright was not the author of the Bitcoin White Paper or the person who adopted the Satoshi Nakamoto pseudonym between 2008 and 2011. The judgment further asserted that Dr. Wright did not create the Bitcoin system or the initial versions of the Bitcoin software.
“I reached the conclusion the evidence was overwhelming… Dr Wright is not the author of the Bitcoin White Paper”.
The appendix to the main judgment included further, more specific condemnations of Dr. Wright’s actions. Listing each piece of evidence, Judge Mellor commented that “Dr Wright’s explanations are absurd. He plainly forged this email” and that
“I am in no doubt that all of Dr Wright’s LATEX documents are recent forgeries created by Dr Wright”.
Further, Judge Mellor outright rejected claims that Dr. Wright had been hacked, instead stating,
“I reject Dr Wright’s allegation of having been hacked. In my judgment, the evidence clearly demonstrates that the BDO Drive was seeded by Dr Wright with all the New Reliance Documents in September 2023 and that he was responsible for all the manipulations identified by Mr Madden”
While the judgment document did not specify particular punishments or remunerations for Dr. Wright, it indicated that further relief, including potential injunctive measures sought by the plaintiffs, would be addressed in a subsequent hearing following the judgment’s handdown.
After the ruling was published, COPA released a statement on X saying,
“Today’s ruling is the result of a concerted and united effort across the entire open source community – from developers, to those who selflessly contributed to funding this important case, to all members of COPA. THANK YOU ALL for the time, dedication and support. Your efforts have secured a brighter future for open source development and protected the integrity of Bitcoin.”
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Author 
Liam 'Akiba' Wright
Also known as "Akiba," Liam Wright is a reporter, podcast producer, and Editor-in-Chief at CryptoSlate. He believes that decentralized technology has the potential to make widespread positive change.
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Bitcoin, a decentralized currency that defies the sway of central banks or administrators, transacts electronically, circumventing intermediaries via a peer-to-peer network.
Craig Steven Wright, commonly referred to as CSW, is an Australian computer scientist and business professional who has been at the center of controversy within the cryptocurrency community.