Court Slams BitBoy With Punitive Damages Over Viral Accusations Against Kevin O’Leary

A United States federal decide has ordered crypto influencer Ben Armstrong, beforehand generally known as “BitBoy,” to pay $2.8 million after he did not defend himself in a defamation lawsuit introduced by investor and tv character Kevin O’Leary.

According to court docket paperwork, US District Judge Beth Bloom of the Southern District of Florida entered the default judgment on Thursday, whereas citing Armstrong’s lack of any response through the proceedings. The damages award contains roughly $78,000 for reputational hurt, $750,000 for emotional misery, and $2 million in punitive damages.

Background of the Case

The case stems from a sequence of posts Armstrong printed on X in late March 2025, wherein he accused O’Leary and his spouse of homicide and alleged they paid hundreds of thousands of {dollars} to cowl up their involvement in a deadly 2019 boating collision in Ontario.

Two folks have been killed when one boat struck one other on a lake, however O’Leary was solely a passenger and was by no means charged. His spouse, Linda O’Leary, however, was later acquitted of careless operation of a vessel following a 13-day trial. Armstrong publicly disclosed O’Leary’s personal cellphone quantity and urged followers to contact him as a “real-life assassin.” These posts prompted a short lived suspension from the platform.

In January 2026, Armstrong moved to overturn the default judgment. He mentioned incarceration and psychological well being issues prevented his involvement, whereas sealed filings referenced a bipolar dysfunction analysis. The court docket rejected the request and famous that Armstrong had been correctly served and waited almost a 12 months earlier than taking motion.

Legal Woes

The ruling additional expands the checklist of authorized troubles dealing with Armstrong, who has confronted repeated arrests since 2023. He was taken into custody in March 2025 on a fugitive warrant tied to alleged threats despatched to a Georgia decide and was arrested once more in June 2025 on a number of counts of harassing cellphone calls.

Armstrong was removed from the BitBoy Crypto model in August 2023 after its dad or mum firm cited substance abuse considerations, which ended his run as one of the crucial seen figures in crypto media.

His profession was repeatedly overshadowed by controversy, together with admissions of paid promotions for failed or fraudulent tasks and a high-profile authorized dispute with YouTuber Atozy that he in the end abandoned after a backlash from the crypto neighborhood.

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