A lawyer has laid out his case for why Tron’s Justin Sun is guilty of theft and criminal conspiracy following the controversial actions of Steem Hardfork 0.23.
Lawyer: Steem Hardfork Was Theft
Australian lawyer Andrew Hamilton offered his pro bono legal opinion of the situation regarding the Steem hard fork. Hamilton, the current CEO of JPB Liberty, claims Justin Sun’s actions during the hard fork make him guilty of both theft and criminal conspiracy.
The hard fork was implemented to seize over $5 million worth of Steem coins from 64 stakeholders and former Steem witnesses. Many of the accounts in question were remaining supporters of Hive (HIVE) – the blockchain which forked away from Steem following Justin Sun’s takeover.
Hamilton compared legal definitions of both crimes in UK and US jurisdictions, pointing out that Hardfork 0.23 met those definitions. Hamilton said:
“In my considered legal opinion, based on the analysis above, the implementation of HF23 meets the definition of theft under the criminal law of relevant jurisdictions.”
Individuals Who Are Criminally Liable
As for “individuals criminally liable” for the theft, Hamilton states that there is sufficient evidence to conclude that Justin Sun is personally behind the dev365 account. This is, in effect, an overseer account which was instrumental in voting in and out numerous Steem blockchain witnesses – particularly during the hard fork.
In Hamilton’s legal opinion:
“Justin Sun controls @dev365, either directly or via Steemit Inc, which in turn controls Steem’s top 20 witness list, which in turn operates and controls the code of the Steem blockchain.
Justin Sun, Steemit Inc and the persons controlling witnesses @justyy, @steemchiller & @dlike are the persons responsible for implementing HF23.”
Therefore, Hamilton arrives at the following conclusion: “Justin Sun, Steemit Inc and the persons controlling the Steem accounts @justyy, @steemchiller & @dlike have committed the criminal offense of THEFT in relevant jurisdictions.”
Due to the actions of Sun and the associated accounts during the hard fork, Hamilton sees grounds for a criminal conspiracy charge. Hamilton’s analysis reached concluded:
“Justin Sun, Steemit Inc and the persons controlling the Steem accounts @justyy, @steemchiller & @dlike have individually and jointly committed the criminal offence of CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY in relevant jurisdictions.”
Hamilton has over 25 years of experience as a lawyer both in Sydney, Australia, and Washington DC. Representatives of Justin Sun were contacted for comment. This article will be updated should they reply.
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