XRP Theft Case Takes Twist as Accused Files Countersuit
- Kirk West filed a countersuit against Nancy Jones, claiming the 5.5 million XRP and US$400k in cash were shared relationship assets, not stolen property.
- West, an alleged “crypto expert,” is demanding half of their combined wealth, including US$11.6 million in XRP and US$5 million in physical gold and silver.
- Jones alleges West stole her Ledger wallet containing the funds; while legal teams recovered 5 million XRP, roughly US$1 million in tokens remains missing.
A man accused of taking millions of dollars’ worth of XRP from Nancy Jones, the widow of country singer George Jones, is now suing her, arguing the assets were shared wealth and that she defamed him. Rolling Stone reported the countersuit was filed on Friday.
Kirk West, 58, of Nashville, was arrested last year after authorities alleged he stole US$400K (AU$612K) in cash and more than 5.5 million XRP. At current prices cited in the report, the XRP is valued at more than US$11.6 million (AU$17.7 million).
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West Disputes Claims on Stolen Funds
West’s filing disputes the theft claim and says he should receive half of the assets accumulated during their relationship, including crypto holdings, US$5 million (AU$7.6 million) in gold and silver, and US$1 million (AU$1.5 million) in cash, according to Rolling Stone.
The relationship began after George Jones died in 2013, court documents cited by Nashville TV station WKRN said. West initially approached Nancy Jones about buying the Jones home and later became romantically involved with her.
The records also describe West as presenting himself as a “crypto expert” and persuading Jones to buy tokens including XRP, Ether, Dogecoin, Shiba Inu and Stellar, while an affidavit tied to a restraining order alleges he also took some of her ETH and SHIB.
Jones’ claim centers on a missing Ledger hardware wallet that held the keys to her crypto, which she said disappeared after she removed West from her home last year. The report said she recovered just over 5 million XRP with legal help, but about 483,000 XRP, now valued at more than US$1 million (AU$1.5 million), was still unrecovered.
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The post XRP Theft Case Takes Twist as Accused Files Countersuit appeared first on Crypto News Australia.
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