PANews reported on April 23 that Yuga Labs has filed a transfer order with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, aiming to seize the crypto assets held by Internet celebrity Jeremy Cahen (nickname Pauly0x). These assets are distributed in four wallets, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and PEPE coins, with a total value of nearly $400,000 as of October last year.
In July 2022, Yuga Labs sued Cahen and artist Ryder Ripps, alleging that they had infringed Yuga Labs' trademark by selling the Ryder Ripps Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT series. The court supported Yuga's claims and awarded it more than $1.5 million in damages in October 2023. In February of the following year, the total damages increased to nearly $9 million, including $7 million in attorney fees and post-judgment interest. The final judgment was entered on February 2, 2024 and became effective on March 3. Cahen did not post a bond or obtain a stay of execution, which enabled Yuga Labs to begin post-judgment asset recovery.
The firm has since issued subpoenas to Cahen’s accountant and imposed tax collections (enforced by the U.S. Marshals Service) on banks and crypto platforms including Bank of America, Chase, Wells Fargo, Robinhood, Coinbase, Binance, and Gemini. Court records show that Cahen transferred $396,946 worth of cryptocurrency to evade Gemini’s tax. According to Yuga, the transfer occurred the day after the tax took effect, before Gemini had a chance to freeze his account, indicating that he intended to evade asset seizure.
