On February 14, Kevin O’Leary won a default judgment in a defamation case against Ben “BitBoy” Armstrong in the Southern District of Florida Federal Court, receiving a total award of $2.8 million. The court found that the defendant’s posting of “malicious” false accusations and private information on social media constituted serious defamation and punitive damages.
The ruling awarded O’Leary $750,000 in emotional distress damages, $78,000 in reputation damages, and an additional $2 million in punitive damages. The judge noted that as a public figure engaged in media and business collaborations, damage to O’Leary’s reputation would directly impact his performance invitations and business relationships. Expert testimony, based on the viewership of the relevant posts, the size of the affected audience, and repair costs, estimated the reputation loss at $78,000.
The dispute originated from multiple posts made by Armstrong in March 2025, accusing O’Leary of involvement in a fatal boat accident in 2019, and publicly sharing his private phone number in one post, urging fans to “call the murderer in real life.” The court found that O’Leary was only a passenger at the time and was not prosecuted; his wife was also declared innocent after the trial. The accident investigation indicated that another boat had no lights at the time. After the phone number was leaked, O’Leary received hundreds of calls, leading to an annual security expense of approximately $200,000 and changes to his travel and work routines for safety reasons.
Procedurally, O’Leary filed suit on March 26, 2025; service was completed by March 28. Armstrong repeatedly failed to respond within the deadline, despite court extensions and clear warnings, and did not submit a response. The clerk entered a default on May 6. A damages hearing was held on October 30, with Armstrong still absent. He later sought to dismiss the case citing detention and bipolar disorder, but the court found he had been properly notified, delayed nearly a year, and was harming the plaintiff’s interests, and thus dismissed the motion.
This case serves as a warning: spreading false accusations and “doxxing” others on social media can lead to high damages and long-term legal consequences. The parties involved include Kevin O’Leary, Ben “BitBoy” Armstrong, and O’Leary’s public role as an investor on “Shark Tank.”
Disclaimer: The information on this page may come from third parties and does not represent the views or opinions of Gate. The content displayed on this page is for reference only and does not constitute any financial, investment, or legal advice. Gate does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information and shall not be liable for any losses arising from the use of this information. Virtual asset investments carry high risks and are subject to significant price volatility. You may lose all of your invested principal. Please fully understand the relevant risks and make prudent decisions based on your own financial situation and risk tolerance. For details, please refer to
Disclaimer.
Related Articles
Strengthen silver-tax interaction! China encourages banks to use blockchain, but people trading coins and doing tokenization are all breaking the law
The Chinese government encourages banks to use blockchain technology to strengthen “bank-tax interactions,” improve the financing environment for small and medium-sized enterprises. At the same time, it fully bans private cryptocurrency trading and mining, treats stablecoins and tokenization as illegal activities, demonstrates clear policy boundaries, and emphasizes official oversight and financial security.
CryptoCity57m ago
Prediction markets win big! Court rules: New Jersey has “no authority to ban” Kalshi from launching sports event contracts
The U.S. Federal Court of Appeals ruled that the state of New Jersey lacks the authority to bar Kalshi, a sports-betting prediction market platform regulated by the CFTC, from launching sports event contracts, finding that federal law takes precedence over state law. Although Kalshi prevailed, experts say this is only a temporary victory, and the Supreme Court will ultimately need to decide the jurisdiction issue.
区块客1h ago
Posting your first crypto post to verify! X rolls out new anti-fraud rules to prevent hackers from stealing accounts—cracking down on scam-coin spam promotion
The social media platform X is rolling out a mandatory verification mechanism for cryptocurrency-related content to address increasingly severe scam problems. The mechanism will lock an account when it is first mentioned in relation to cryptocurrency, requiring users to complete identity verification. According to data, in 2025, crypto scams are expected to reach $17.0 billion, and social media platforms have become an important source of scams. The new measure is intended to reduce the success rate of scams that rely on high-trust accounts used by hackers; however, scam activity is still expanding rapidly, and preventive measures face challenges.
CryptoCity1h ago
Korean financial regulators require crypto exchanges to reconcile assets every 5 minutes, strengthening internal controls
The Financial Services Commission of Korea requires all domestic cryptocurrency exchanges to reconcile accounts every 5 minutes to address internal control vulnerabilities exposed by recent payment incidents. The new regulations include establishing automated reconciliation systems, setting standards for when trading must be paused, and strengthening reviews of high-risk processes, with the goal of improving asset security.
GateNews1h ago
Solana Foundation unveils security overhaul days after $270 million Drift exploit
The Solana Foundation announced a suite of security initiatives on Monday, just five days after decentralized finance (DeFi) platform Drift Protocol suffered a $270 million exploit carried out by a North Korean state-affiliated group following a six-month social engineering campaign.
The
CoinDesk2h ago
Savannah Guthrie returns to The Today Show, and her mother Nancy Guthrie’s crypto kidnapping case—the Bitcoin ransom—has still not been solved
NBC anchor Savannah Guthrie returned to The Today Show today, but her 84-year-old mother, Nancy, is still missing in Arizona, with the kidnappers demanding a $6 million Bitcoin ransom. After 65 days of her disappearance, there has been no major progress in the case. Savannah expressed guilt, saying she believes her mother’s kidnapping may be related to her high profile.
GateNews5h ago
