Crypto Content Creator ‘Bitboy’ Ben Armstrong Sues Former Colleagues at Hit Network
Cryptocurrency influencer Ben Armstrong has filed a lawsuit against two Hit Network employees for ousting him from the company he founded.
The founder of BitBoy Crypto filed the lawsuit in Georgia, USA, naming Hit Network CEO Timothy ‘TJ’ Shedd Jr., his father Timothy Shedd Sr., and TJSJ Holdings as defendants, according to Decrypt, citing the suit filed on August 30, retracted, and refiled on September 12.
Armstrong and BJ Investment Holdings (BJIH) were named as plaintiffs.
BJIH is the parent company of Hit Network and the YouTube channel formerly called Bitboy Crypto, now Discover Crypto.
According to the suit, Armstrong fully owns the corporate entity called Better Than TJ LLC, which controls the majority – or 67% – of the shares in BJIH. Meanwhile, TJSJ owns 33%.
Therefore, the plaintiffs argue that the defendants stole the company.
Actually, the two defendants will be paying it personally since oh yea duh… Hit Network is my company too. I literally own 67% of every company I created. Which is all the companies. https://t.co/9T2JAWglOi
— Ben Armstrong aka BitBoy Crypto (@BenArmstrongsX) September 13, 2023
The filing alleges that the father-son duo locked Armstrong out of email and social media accounts; that they “began conspiring to steal the company” from its founder a few months ago; that they are “misappropriating, diverting, converting, and wasting” the company’s funds, using the assets for personal gain; and that they committed fraud.
The suit reportedly showed that the company brings in some $1 million in ad revenue every month.
Allegations Aplenty
In late August, Armstrong announced his departure, stating that “TJ Shedd & Justin Williams have attempted a coup at my company.”
Per an announcement from BitBoy Crypto shared at the time, “BJ Investment Holdings, the parent company of Hit network, took decisive legal action in removing Ben Armstrong from the company.”
BitBoy Crypto is Hit Network’s most popular brand. It was promptly renamed.
Bitboy Crypto is now Discover Crypto.
— HIT Network (@HitNetwork_) September 11, 2023
We're in this together. We support Ben Armstrong and wish him the best and we are moving forward.https://t.co/AL6XLw2T9k
It has been unclear why these events occurred, but CEO TJ Shedd claimed that there has been “emotional, physical and financial damage” caused by Armstrong to Hit and the community.
Decrypt cited a copy of the August 25 termination letter, claiming that Armstrong physically assaulted and verbally abused employees, including TJ Shedd, and that he was under the influence of “illegal substances and steroids.”
Per the report, the suit does not address the allegation, while Armstrong denied physical violence and hard drugs use in a recorded phone call.
Armstrong confirmed the lawsuit for Cryptonews, stating that the original one, filed on August 30, was retracted “because I was under death threat from Carlos Diaz aka Larry Smith an associate Justin Williams sent after me to silence me. But the lawsuit has now been reinstated.”
Meanwhile, in May this year, Armstrong launched BEN, the governance token for Bitboy’s decentralized autonomous community tagged Ben DAO.
The influencer claimed the token was created by another party on behalf of “a group I’m.” In his words, that DAO was made up of “all the important Bens in crypto.”
On Wednesday morning (UTC), BEN was trading at $0.000000021642, down nearly 10% in 24 hours and 44% in a month.
BEN price chart:
Cryptonews has reached out to Armstrong and Shedd for comment.
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Updated on August 14 with a comment from Armstrong regarding the lawsuit confirmation and alleged threats.
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Learn more:
– Ben Armstrong’s Departure from BitBoy Crypto Sends Shockwaves Through the Crypto Community
– How BitBoy Predicted The Collapse Of FTX
– Crypto Influencer BitBoy Flies to Bahamas to Find Sam Bankman-Fried
– Can I Create My Own Cryptocurrency?
