Crypto YouTuber Sues Fellow Influencer Who Dubbed Him Shady Dirtbag

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In a video last year, Atozy called BitBoy a shady dirtbag who shouldnt be offering financial advice BitBoy has previously been called out over getting paid for scam cryptocurrency promotions

Ben Armstrong, a YouTube influencer who goes by the name BitBoy Crypto, sued a fellow social media personality over defamatory claims that he scammed his audience by promoting an offbeat cryptocurrency.

In the lawsuit, reported by Law360 on Monday, Armstrong alleged that the influencer Erling Mengshoel negatively impacted his business relations after releasing a November 2021 video that scorns BitBoy for promoting scams and pumping micro-cap coins to fans.

Mengshoel who goes by Atozy on YouTube says in the video that BitBoy has been known for being a shady dirtbag who milks his audience for a quick buck rather than giving them genuine advice.

He also claims Armstrong isnt someone who should be offering financial advice because you dont know whether hes trying to enrich you or himself, and calls him out for talking up a washout cryptocurrency called Pamp.

That hasn’t sat well with Armstrong. He mentioned Atozys public dissing in his complaint, protesting against the use of phrases shady dirtbag and dirtbag YouTuber. Atozys video led viewers to believe Armstrong was paid by fraudsters to sell cryptocurrency to suckers willing to buy it, the complaint added.

Mengshoel also told viewers in the video that regulators were likely to probe such promotions, saying its basically inevitable the SEC is going to get involved because dirtbags like this cannot resist the urge to take that quick buck and just milk their audience for some extra money.

Armstrong alleges in his complaint that Atozys attack piece significantly impacted his business as the number of his followers reduced, damaged his reputation and caused him severe anxiety. He said he fears being perceived as a felon, a fraud, and untrustworthy in business or in general.

His lawsuit seeks general, compensatory and special damages for defamation, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, tortious interference with business and violations of Georgias Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act and Fair Business Practice Act.

BitBoy snubbed as hypeman by other commentators

Atozy isnt the only one criticalizing BitBoys cryptocurrency promotions. A widely-followed Twitter user ZachXBT once shared a pamphlet showing the influencers rates for reviews, livestream mentions, YouTube interviews and website articles.

A dedicated review was priced at $35,000, a screenshot of a media kit he shared with a potential client showed.

1/ Lets review all the direct scams Bitboy has worked with in the past. Just in case you forgot here is the flyer with how much he charges.

I received this a while back by posing as a project interested in a promotion.pic.twitter.com/FkC9HUDGsc

— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) January 3, 2022

MYX Network and DistX, both of which have made no gains since 2020, are among the dubious cryptocurrency tokens hes promoted, according to ZachXBT. Armstrong once labeled a video on DistX my most trusted coin, but went later on to revise the title.

Separately, the YouTuber was recently described as an untrained investment adviser in a Washington Post report that highlighted his bad-mouthing of bankrupt lender Celsius after initially encouraging investors to deposit their money with the firm.

He told The Post that he does not personally own cryptocurrencies, and that the chief financial officer of BitBoy a media enterprise with 70 employees handles all crypto transactions for the firm in case of potential conflicts.

Armstrongs lawyers from Krevolin & Horst didnt return Blockworks request for comment by press time. It isnt clear who is representing Mengshoel.

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Shalini Nagarajan

Blockworks

Report

Shalini is a crypto reporter from Bangalore, India who covers developments in the market, regulation, market structure, and advice from institutional experts. Prior to Blockworks, she worked as a markets reporter at Insider and a correspondent at Reuters News. She holds some bitcoin and ether. Reach her at [email protected]

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