Cryptsy CEO denies transferring funds from exchange to private accounts

Rage Review : Earlier this year, Cryptsy CEO Paul Vernon was dissatisfied with the class action lawsuit that accused him of transferring tens of millions of dollars from the digital currency exchange to his personal account, and he fought back. He said it was just because the company and personal accounts were confused, which was a very common mistake in small companies. He also accused the receiver of "deliberately" omitting information, which should have been neutral, but only selected information that was beneficial to the plaintiff.

Translation: Nicole

Cryptsy CEO Paul Vernon has hit back at accusations that he diverted tens of millions of dollars from his digital currency exchange into personal accounts.

In his latest statement, Vernon told CoinDesk that the findings issued earlier this month by the court-appointed receiver were “misleading,” arguing that the questionable flow of funds was due to a mix-up of corporate and personal accounts.

The complaint stems from a class-action lawsuit filed in Florida earlier this year that led to the exchange’s closure.

Paul Vernon

“This is a quibble by the plaintiffs, simply to bolster their testimony,” Vernon told CoinDesk. “Did Cryptsy make any business mistakes during its operations? Of course, every company makes mistakes, and inadvertently mixing up personal and business accounts is a very common mistake in small companies.”

Earlier this year, months after complaints about the withdrawals began to mount, Cryptsy collapsed. The exchange ultimately shut down, blaming a 2014 hack that bankrupted the exchange and left it tens of millions of dollars in debt.

Vernon did not immediately respond to other allegations, such as that he deleted information from Cryptsy's servers before receivers took possession of the company's assets.

He further accused the receiver of “deliberately” omitting information that could have been used against him, while refuting allegations that the exchange improperly handled funds held in a variety of digital currencies.

"I don't know why the receiver, who is supposed to be neutral, would cherry-pick information that would be favorable to the plaintiffs," he said.

Representatives of the class action plaintiffs did not immediately respond to requests for comment.