The ongoing legal dispute between Elon Musk and a group of Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) investors has taken a new turn, with the chief attorney representing the lawsuit against Musk alleging that the billionaire’s legal adversaries are trying to intimidate and harass the lawyer and his clients.
According to a new court filing, Evan Spencer, the attorney representing the plaintiffs who claim that Musk defrauded investors while promoting Dogecoin, said that the Tesla CEO and his lawyer Alex Spiro are using “unlawful” tactics to discredit Spencer and his clients.
In the filing, Spencer said that Spiro attacked the former’s competency as a lawyer. In addition, Spencer asserted that Spiro had disclosed a confidential letter between the two to the New York Post. Spiro had originally sent the letter to Spencer, arguing that allegations against Musk lacked foundation.
“The only possible way that Spiro’s letter could have found its way into the New York Post is if Defense Counsels or an agent or subordinate acting on their behalf provided it to the Post,” Spencer said in the filing.
“Due to the Post article, which was brought to my attention by one of my clients, I needed to assuage the fear and doubt it caused my clients about this case. Defendants are using their bottomless war chest to finance an unlawful harassment campaign against me and my clients,” he added in the court filing.
As reported by Reuters, Spencer attempted to remove Spiro as Musk’s lawyer over the leaked letter earlier in June, saying that the leak had “violated a myriad of ethics rules.”
Musk faces a proposed $258 million class action lawsuit accusing him of insider trading and manipulating Dogecoin.
The amended complaint presents evidence of Musk’s ownership of a disputed wallet by citing a tweet he posted on Feb. 10, 2021, when the billionaire openly declared his acquisition of 28.061971 worth of Dogecoin.
Accusing Musk of exploiting Dogecoin for personal gain, investors claim that he did so by tweeting, using paid influencers and appearing on “Saturday Night Live” on May 8, 2021, all while using wallets controlled by himself or Tesla.
The lawsuit also highlights Musk’s April sale of approximately $124 million worth of Dogecoin. The sale coincided with Musk replacement of Twitter’s logo with Dogecoin’s iconic Shiba Inu logo. The cryptocurrency spiked 30% shortly after the logo switch — from $0.07705 to $0.10109.
Produced in association with Benzinga
Edited by Saba Fatima and Maham Javaid
