Former Ethereum Advisor Seeks $9.6 Billion from US Government

Web3 attorney and former Ethereum advisor Steven Nerayoff has filed a lawsuit against the US government, demanding $9.6 billion for a four-year prosecution over a “fabricated” case.

Nerayoff was arrested in 2019 on charges of extorting 10,000 ETH from a crypto startup. The legal battle lasted nearly four years and concluded in May 2023 when the US government withdrew the case.

The defense claims that federal agents deliberately pursued Nerayoff, aware of the “factual and legal baselessness” of the charges. As a result, their client suffered “significant and irreparable harm.”

The $9.6 billion sum is expected to cover the damage to Nerayoff’s reputation. During the legal proceedings, all business partners abandoned him, causing him to lose the opportunity to earn “hundreds of millions of dollars from consulting contracts” in the bullish cryptocurrency market.

In February 2024, Nerayoff claimed that the Gary Gensler-led SEC secretly supports Ethereum and is heavily influenced by the Chinese Communist Party.

It was also reported at the time that the former advisor was preparing a fraud lawsuit against the Ethereum Foundation and its founders, Vitalik Buterin and Joe Lubin.