California resident Michael Terpin has filed a lawsuit against telecommunications firm AT&T, alleging that the company’s negligence caused him to suffer cryptocurrency losses totaling about $24 million. He filed the complaint in a Los Angeles District Court on Wednesday, according to a report from CNBC that noted the full scope of damages sought by the plaintiff:
Terpin, who co-founded an angel group for bitcoin investors called BitAngels in 2013 and a digital currency fund, BitAngels/Dapps Fund, is seeking $200 million in punitive damages and $24 million of compensatory damages from AT&T.
Terpin was an AT&T cellphone customer who says that the theft occurred via “digital identity theft.”. He alleges that his account was hacked twice within the span of seven months and accuses the company of “willing cooperation with the hacker, gross negligence, violation of its statutory duties, and failure to adhere to its commitments in its Privacy Policy."
The plaintiff’s complaint argues that an AT&T “insider” cooperated with the thief by providing his phone number to the hacker at an AT&T store without properly verifying the thief's identity by asking for his account password or even a proper I.D. Terpin claims that the hacker used that phone number to gain access to his digital currency accounts and execute the theft.
"What AT&T did was like a hotel giving a thief with a fake ID a room key and a key to the room safe to steal jewelry in the safe from the rightful owner.”
AT&T reportedly provided a statement denying the complaint’s allegations. The company said that it is looking forward to making its case in court.
