Speaking in general terms here, does anyone ever get sued for crypto issues on this forum? Did Master-P ever get prosecuted for running away with all that bitcoin? I don't ever recall reading about a resolution to that, and the amount involved wasn't insignificant.
The only other person I recall getting into legal trouble for scamming here was Trendon Shavers, and that was quite a while ago and I'm not even sure if he was sued. I know he got fined and went to prison. Mark Karepeles went to prison and got sued, I think--my grasp of bitcoin history isn't that keen but I do know that scammers tend to not suffer any consequences on bitcointalk. So no, even if there was enough evidence against Lauda for people to consider legal action, I don't think he/she is going to get sued. That's just my prediction based on what I've seen people do around bitcointalk and in the crypto world in general.
The only people I know that went to jail (I've included being held in remand before trail) are:
Knightmb (Michael Brown)
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/knightmb-on-bitcointalk-from-37106736-btc-to-mitt-romney-extortion-4547124knightmb on bitcointalk -went from owning 371,067.36 BTC to being jailed for Mitt Romney extortion.
Involved with bitcoin early on. One of bitcoins largest whales. Obtained the bitcoin in curious circumstances and spent them in equally curious circumstances.
Currently in jail.
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/05/16/romney_tax_return_hacker_dr_evil_gets_his_sentence_overturned/Pirateat40 (Trendon Shavers)
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/history-bitcoin-savings-and-trust-and-pirateat40-on-bitcointalk-ponzi-4464504Bitcoin Savings and Trust and Pirateat40 on Bitcointalk (PONZI)
More that 146,000 bitcoins were collected.
Has been released from jail.
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/janelytvynenko/bitcoin-mining-plan-cryptocurrency-lending-schemesilkroad & altoid (Ross Ulbricht)
Silkroad and Altoid were both accounts tied to Ross Ulbricht and subject to a DOJ subpoena
Silkroad Founder jailed for running a darkweb drug market
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/silk-road-and-bitcointalk-how-it-played-a-role-in-its-rise-and-fall-4437773 Currently in protective custody in jail. (Long Jail term)
https://www.chepicap.com/en/news/4337/.htmlMagicalTux (Mark Karpeles)
Founder of hacked exchange MtGox,
Police suspect in Silkroad (never proven)
Hosted the bitcointalk on his servers and reviewed the code after the first bitcointalk hack.
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/bitcointalk-history-of-mtgox-and-how-a-bitcointalk-post-caught-the-mtgox-hacker-4412667 (Mt Gox story)
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/bitcointalk-history-of-hacks-and-vandalism-4405796 (Bitcointalk hacks and vandalism)
Karpelès was arrested on August 1, 2015, by Japanese police on suspicion of having accessed the exchange's computer system to falsify data on its outstanding balance. He was re-arrested and allegedly charged with embezzlement. Karpelès was released on bail in July 2016, but must remain in Japan.
On July 10, 2017, he pled "not guilty" to embezzlement and data manipulation charges.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Karpel%C3%A8sWME (Alexander Vinnik)
Bitcointalk user WME was identified as Vinnick when he made this post:
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.1037908http://archive.is/6cFcY Other online activities by the same user account are alledged to link it to the hack on MtGox.
Investigations by Wizsec, a group of bitcoin security specialists, had identified Vinnik as the owner of the wallets into which the stolen bitcoins had been transferred, many of which were sold on BTC-e.
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/bitcointalk-history-of-mtgox-and-how-a-bitcointalk-post-caught-the-mtgox-hacker-4412667Arrested in Greece and awaiting extradition to Russia - which France and the USA have appealed.
https://www.ccn.com/alleged-bitcoin-launderer-alexander-vinnik-questioned-by-french-investigators-lawyer-says-charges-are-trumped-up/http://tass.com/society/1027397escrow.ms (Pankaj Bharadwaj)
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.13840774Following a report in the India Times Escrow.ms got removed from the DT list.
The arrest was for credit card cloning and then converting it to bitcoin to launder and distribute the stolen funds.
Status unknown.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Card-frauds-used-bitcoins-to-trade-money/articleshow/50922983.cmshttps://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/bitcointalk-trolls-dysfunction-and-all-out-flame-wars-guide-to-the-scandals-4736673Not that I think that there is much to the Lauda accusations.
I haven't looked at the accusations too closely. But my impression is that at best it is a civil dispute.
The moral of the story is to have crystal clear terms on how to deal with different eventualities.
The reason to have escrow is because business deals can go bad. Unfortunately when they go bad the escrow agents are often pulled into the dispute.
