Bitcoin mining company Sphere 3D (ANY) is suing its business partner Gryphon Digital Mining for failing to operate in the best interest of the businesses’ relationship and causing it to lose $500,000 worth of bitcoin in a spoofing attack. Sphere 3D (ANY) is suing Gryphon Digital Mining for both offenses.
In the complaint that was submitted to the Southern District of New York on Friday, it is alleged that Gryphon CEO Rob Chang wired 18 of Sphere 3D’s bitcoin to an address belonging to a fraudster who masqueraded as Sphere 3D’s chief financial officer in January and then wired another eight bitcoin to the same address a few days later.
 The complaint also alleges that Chang wired 32 bitcoin to the same address. In addition, the complaint claims that Gryphon misrepresented Sphere 3D’s computer capability as its own and offered its partner with “abhorrent” services. Representatives for Sphere 3D stated in the complaint that the company is seeking damages “in excess of $75,000, exclusive of interest and costs.”
Patricia Trompeter, the chief executive officer of Sphere 3D, revealed to CoinDesk that her firm is suing Gryphon not just to defend its own interests but also to advocate for higher standards of corporate ethics within the cryptocurrency sector.
“Today’s filing demonstrates that we will not only protect the company that we all have worked so hard to navigate through the past year, but also that we will not be bullied or threatened by the likes of Gryphon,” Trompeter said in a statement. “Today’s filing demonstrates that we will not only protect the company that we all have worked so hard to navigate through the past year.”
