Charlie Shrem, an early bitcoin (BTC) adopter and cryptocurrency advocate, will reportedly receive approximately $45,000 in legal costs from Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss – as part of compensation from a lawsuit.

According to court documents filed on Thursday (February 7th), 

Investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss have been ordered to pay back $45,000 in legal fees incurred by entrepreneur Charlie Shrem as part of an ongoing lawsuit that alleges he failed to broker a series of promised cryptocurrency purchases on their behalf.

The latest court order comes as part of lengthy legal proceedings between Shrem and Winklevoss Capital Fund, LLC (“WCF”), a company owned and operated by the Winklevoss twins (Tyler and Cameron).

Judge Rules In Shrem’s Favor Again

In early November 2018, the Winklevoss brothers filed a lawsuit against Shrem as the duo believed the early bitcoin adopter had gone on a spending spree with cryptocurrency that belonged to them. As mentioned in court documents, the Winklevoss twins claimed to have given Shrem several hundred thousand dollars to purchase bitcoin on their behalf. At that time (about six years ago), bitcoin was trading at just over $10 according to CryptoCompare data.

In official court papers, the Winklevoss brothers have alleged that Shrem has not given back what amounts to around 5,000 BTC, which is currently valued at almost $17 million. However, a judge at the District Court of the Southern District of New York has, for the second time in 2 months, ruled in favor of Shrem.

Last year, Cameron and Tyler had tried to freeze Shrem’s bitcoin holdings through a court order. The pair had alleged that Shrem has not paid money he owes from a bitcoin trade conducted a few years back. During a court hearing in November 2018, the scope of Winklevoss’ twins claims had been reduced by the presiding Judge. As mentioned, the twin brothers must now reimburse legal fees paid (so far) by Shrem.

Shrem Claims His Associate Controlled Wallet Holding Funds

In response to the lawsuit, Shrem claimed (in November of last year) he had fulfilled his end of the deal with the Winklevoss brothers. According to Shrem, an associate who allegedly controlled the wallet that held the funds may be responsible for the mismanagement of the large amount of cryptocurrency.

Although Shrem had named the associate in the court papers and provided e-mail correspondence as evidence, the name was redacted in the documents that were publicly released. The details are to remain sealed until the case is resolved. Shrem’s court filing (filed last year) noted:

The 5,000 bitcoins, which are the linchpin of WCF’s lawsuit, belonged to a prominent bitcoin industry member, who, to protect his privacy and for his security, will be called “Mr. X” in this brief. Mr. X is identified in e-mail communications between him and Shrem (and others) discussing the 5,000 bitcoins, an unredacted copy of which has been filed under seal. Shrem merely, as a favor, electronically transferred 5,000 bitcoins for Mr. X. to a cold storage wallet account at Mr. X’s request on December 31, 2012.