In an article published by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, Nelson Mullins partner Matthew Lindenbaum provided legal commentary on a recent cryptocurrency fraud case. The article details what led a judge to rule a Bitcoin services company is the rightful owner of $30,100 seized by police after a man argued for the return of funds after falling victim to a scam.

“To me, this is pretty straightforward,” says Lindenbaum, who represents financial technology companies including those in the cybersecurity industry. “The wrongdoers here are the criminals. That’s who the state should be pursuing, not the Bitcoin ATM operator. Just like in a wire fraud case, it’s not the fault of the bank. If it were, you’d be turning the banks into the insurers of all fraud that can occur.”

The court found the Bitcoin ATM operator acquired the money in good faith without the knowledge of the fraudulent activity.

“The operator of the Bitcoin ATM went out of its way to warn the unfortunate victim that this could happen,” Lindenbaum says. “They did more than they were required to do. If the decision here was otherwise, then no one would be able to operate Bitcoin ATMs.”

Subscribers can read the full article here.