U.S. law enforcement authorities have detained former Monero lead developer Ricardo “Fluffypony” Spagni. The arrest was carried out at the request of South African authorities, who accuse him of fraud. The case is not related to private cryptocurrency.
Reading Fluffy’s arrest extradition thing sounds like a fishing expedition over 100k. https://t.co/HUyKZRFnTs
— DETERMINISTIC OPTIMISM (@nvk) August 2, 2021
On July 21, Spagni was arrested at Nashville airport. He was aboard a private jet bound for Los Cabos, Mexico, which landed for a planned refueling stop. The developer is currently in custody as South Africa seeks his extradition.
According to court documents, fraud charges do not relate to Monero. They stem from Spagni’s work as information-technology manager of South African company Cape Cookies from 2009-2011. The damage alleged is approximately $100,000.
“While employed by Cape Cookies, Spagni intercepted invoices from another company, Ensync, for information technology services that it supplied to Cape Cookies. Spagni knowingly used false information to fabricate similar invoices, allegedly from Ensync […]. Then he inflated prices on some goods and/or services,” the document states.
Acting U.S. Attorney Mary Jane Stewart asked the court to deny Spagni’s bid for bail pending extradition. She fears the defendant could flee.
“Regarded as possessing substantial cryptocurrency assets that would enable him to evade capture. […] According to available information, he owns assets including watches worth $800 000. Spagni also poses a danger to the community,” Stewart said.
apropos scuttlebutt around the extradition case, a chatroom i’m in pointed out that Spagni appears to be wearing a Richard Mille RM 70-01 watch which may cost $1m or so. pic.twitter.com/PJqtVOXI20
— Tim Swanson (@ofnumbers) August 3, 2021
Through his wife, he posted a message saying that he had been held “for contempt of court.” The developer explains the incident as “a misunderstanding in an old case” and hopes to resolve the matter “soon.”
“In the meantime my commercial affairs will continue under the leadership of my partners,” he added.
A hearing in Spagni’s case is scheduled for August 5. If convicted on the charges, he faces up to 20 years in prison.
Spagni stepped back from active Monero development in 2019, but remains its unofficial face. The developer stood at the project’s origins, though he was not its direct creator.
In October last year, Spagni said that regulators’ attempts to trace transactions on the Monero network were doomed to fail.
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