X is suing Vivek Kumar Sen and Zmyang Sherpa, alleging that they created and operated a network of fake bitcoin news accounts to obtain creator-reward payments through fraudulent activity.
The social media company claims the pair coordinated multiple accounts that posted fabricated cryptocurrency headlines and generated artificial engagement. X is represented by Lewis Silkin LLP and is seeking to recover at least £207,000 ($277,000) in creator-fund payouts. It is also seeking further damages related to the investigation and remediation of the alleged scheme, although those costs have not been determined.
The lawsuit identifies nine accounts that X says were connected to the operation: @Vivek4real_, @Bitcoin_Teddy, @saylordocs, @TrendingBitcoin, @Kalshibacktest, @PolyBackTest, @BTC_Vibes, @MrSuperBitcoin and @Laserlump.
According to the complaint, the accounts repeatedly posted supposed “breaking” bitcoin stories that were often identical and appeared on X only seconds apart. The posts allegedly contained unverified claims involving prominent financial institutions and executives, with the aim of attracting large amounts of attention.
Examples cited in the lawsuit include an alleged claim that Goldman Sachs’ CEO was promoting a crypto bill and another saying Citibank had purchased $12.6 million worth of bitcoin.
X further alleges that members of the network artificially boosted the posts by repeatedly liking, replying to and reposting them. The company claims the coordinated interactions were intended to create the appearance of authentic engagement.
Alleged Engagement Business
The complaint also claims that the @Vivek4real_ account was used to market paid engagement and manipulation services.
X alleges that the account sought customers who wanted to purchase additional accounts with large follower bases. The lawsuit quotes an alleged message from Sen to a third party about buying an account, in which he proposed moving the conversation elsewhere because encrypted chat had not been enabled and said he did not want to violate X’s rules.
X says it shut down all nine accounts associated with the alleged network on Aug. 18, citing “coordinated revenue sharing fraud and platform manipulation.”
The company says its investigation uncovered links between the accounts through shared devices and login identifiers, as well as common payment arrangements.
The lawsuit alleges that creator-reward payments were routed through shared Stripe accounts that contained mismatched personal information. In one case, Stripe payment details were allegedly registered under the name “Stefan Mann,” while the linked bank account and email address were in Sen’s name.
X is seeking repayment of the creator rewards it says were obtained through the alleged scheme, in addition to damages related to fraud and conspiracy.
The particulars of the claim were signed by X Senior Legal Directors Diego de Lima Gualda and Adam Mehes.
