A UK High Court has handed down a one-year suspended prison sentence to Craig Wright, who was previously found to have made false claims about being Bitcoin's mysterious creator, Satoshi Nakamoto.
Justice James Edward Mellor issued the sentence after determining Wright had violated earlier court orders by filing a $1.15 trillion lawsuit against Bitcoin developers and Square in October. The sentence is suspended for two years, meaning Wright will only face imprisonment if he commits further offenses during this period.
The ruling stems from a case brought by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), which successfully challenged Wright's claims of being Bitcoin's inventor in a six-week trial. On March 14, Justice Mellor delivered an immediate verdict, stating that "the evidence is overwhelming" that Wright was not Satoshi Nakamoto.
In his judgment, Mellor highlighted Wright's pattern of deception, noting he had "engaged in the deliberate production of false documents" and "lied to the Court extensively and repeatedly" to support his claims of being Bitcoin's creator.
The contempt charges arose after Wright filed a lawsuit claiming Square and Bitcoin developers had altered the original Bitcoin protocol without authorization. COPA argued this violated previous injunctions preventing Wright from making Satoshi-related claims and taking legal action on that basis.
Adding to the controversy, Wright failed to appear at a mandatory hearing on Wednesday, claiming his attendance would result in £240,000 ($303,000) in lost business. His current location remains unclear, with speculation placing him in either Singapore or Indonesia.
The UK Crown Prosecution Service is currently considering bringing criminal perjury charges against Wright, following Justice Mellor's recommendation in July.
Wright has indicated he plans to appeal the contempt finding, though enforcement of any potential prison sentence could prove challenging if he remains outside the UK's jurisdiction.