Bitcoin mining firm Sphere 3D is suing its business partner Gryphon Digital Mining for losing $500,000 of its bitcoin in a spoofing attack and failing to act in the best interest of the firms’ partnership.
The complaint, filed with the Southern District of New York on Friday, alleges Gryphon CEO Rob Chang wired 18 of Sphere 3D’s bitcoin to an address belonging to a fraudster who masqueraded as Sphere 3D’s chief financial officer in January, and another eight bitcoin to the same address a few days later. The lawsuit also alleges Gryphon provided “abhorrent” services to its partner and misrepresented Sphere 3D’s computing power as its own in public disclosures Sphere 3D’s representatives said in the lawsuit that they are seeking damages “in excess of $75,000, exclusive of interest and costs.”
Sphere 3D CEO Patricia Trompeter said her company is suing Gryphon to not only protect its own interests but to fight for greater corporate integrity within the cryptocurrency industry.
“Today’s filing demonstrates that we will not only protect the company that we all have worked so hard to navigate through the past year, but also that we will not be bullied or threatened by the likes of Gryphon,” Trompeter said in a statement. Gryphon’s executives have not yet publicly responded to the lawsuit. The company’s representatives were not immediately available for comment.