🚀 IT Engineer Sues Newport City Council Over Lost Bitcoin Hard Drive
#ITEngineer #NewportCityCouncil #Bitcoin #Lawsuit #HardDrive #Crypto #BTC #Landfill #EnvironmentalConcerns #LegalBattle
According to Cointelegraph, James Howells, an IT engineer from Newport, is suing Newport City Council in the United Kingdom for 495 million British pounds (around $647 million) in damages after accidentally discarding a hard drive containing 8,000 Bitcoin.
Howells has made numerous attempts to retrieve the drive from the local landfill but has met resistance from the council, which has repeatedly denied his requests to excavate the site. He mistakenly threw out the hard drive containing Bitcoin (BTC) in 2013 during a household clearout, now worth almost half a billion pounds.
Howells has attempted to recover the lost hard drive for over a decade after mistakenly placing it in a bin liner, which ended up in a recycling center. In 2013, the value of his 8,000 BTC was around 1 million pounds (around $1.3 million). Howells has assembled a team of legal experts to file the court claim, which is set to be heard in December.
Despite Howells’ offering to give the council 10% of the recovered BTC value if the hard drive is found, Newport City Council has consistently opposed the excavation request, citing environmental concerns. The landfill in question has been flagged for breaches of its environmental permit, including elevated levels of asbestos, arsenic, and methane. The council argues that digging up the site could harm the surrounding area and claims its operation follows strict monitoring protocols.
In 2022, Howells reportedly pitched an $11 million idea to locate and recover the lost hard drive, potentially surrounded by 110,000 tonnes of garbage. The plan is active and would involve no cost to the council. Still, Newport City Council remains firm in its decision to refuse, questioning the legality and feasibility of Howells’ claims.#ITEngineer #NewportCityCouncil #Bitcoin #Lawsuit #HardDrive #Crypto #BTC #Landfill #EnvironmentalConcerns #LegalBattle
🚀 Former Girlfriend Reveals Role In Discarding Hard Drive With 8,000 Bitcoins
#bitcoin #harddrive #JamesHowells #HalfinaEddyEvans #Newport #landfill #cryptocurrency #millionaire #BTC
According to Odaily, a recent revelation by Halfina Eddy-Evans, the former girlfriend of IT engineer James Howells from Newport, Wales, has shed light on the circumstances surrounding the disposal of a hard drive containing 8,000 bitcoins. Eddy-Evans disclosed that in 2013, she discarded the hard drive at Howells' request, as he asked her to get rid of unwanted items, including the hard drive. She stated, "It wasn't my fault for throwing it away." At the time of disposal, the value of bitcoin was less than $1, but today, those bitcoins are worth over $716 million.
Previously, it was reported that James Howells is suing the Newport City Council in the UK for damages amounting to £495 million (approximately $647 million) after accidentally discarding the hard drive containing the bitcoins. Howells has made several attempts to retrieve the hard drive from a local landfill, but his efforts have been thwarted by the city council, which has repeatedly denied his requests to excavate the site. The incident occurred during a household cleanup in 2013, and the value of the bitcoins now approaches £500 million.#bitcoin #harddrive #JamesHowells #HalfinaEddyEvans #Newport #landfill #cryptocurrency #millionaire #BTC
🚀 IT Engineer Loses Legal Battle Over $770 Million Bitcoin Hard Drive
#ITEngineer #Bitcoin #LegalBattle #HardDrive #Newport #Cointelegraph #EnvironmentalRegulations #JudgeKeyser #Landfill #MinedBitcoin #Cryptocurrency #BitcoinSurge #FinancialNews #BTC
According to Cointelegraph, James Howells, an IT engineer from Newport, Wales, has lost his legal battle to retrieve a hard drive containing Bitcoin valued at over $770 million. The hard drive, which holds Bitcoin mined in 2009, was accidentally discarded in a landfill. However, Howells has been denied access to the site by the Newport City Council due to environmental regulations.
In a recent development, Judge Keyser, the Circuit Commercial Judge for Wales, dismissed Howells' legal case that sought permission to access the Newport landfill to recover the hard drive. The judge stated that the case had "no realistic prospect" of success if it proceeded to a full trial, as reported by the BBC on January 9.
Since 2013, Howells has persistently requested access to the landfill, even offering a portion of the Bitcoin's value to the council if the hard drive were to be found. His case attracted increased attention in 2024, coinciding with Bitcoin's historic surge to $100,000, which resulted in over 130% returns for the year. Cointelegraph has reached out to Howells for further comments on the situation.#ITEngineer #Bitcoin #LegalBattle #HardDrive #Newport #Cointelegraph #EnvironmentalRegulations #JudgeKeyser #Landfill #MinedBitcoin #Cryptocurrency #BitcoinSurge #FinancialNews #BTC
🚀 IT Engineer's Lost Bitcoin Hard Drive Remains Unrecoverable As Landfill Closure Approaches
#Bitcoin #HardDrive #Landfill #Newport #ITEngineer #SolarPower #ElectricVehicles #JamesHowells #CityCouncil #TechNews #BTC
According to Odaily, an IT engineer named James Howells inadvertently discarded a hard drive containing 7,500 bitcoins, now valued at approximately $750 million or £620 million, in a landfill located in Newport, Wales. The landfill is scheduled for closure between 2025 and 2026. Howells' attempts to sue the city council for access to the site or compensation have been unsuccessful. The city council plans to close the landfill, which has been in use since the early 2000s, and repurpose part of the land for a solar power facility. This initiative aims to support the city's growing fleet of electric garbage trucks, as they transition away from diesel vehicles.#Bitcoin #HardDrive #Landfill #Newport #ITEngineer #SolarPower #ElectricVehicles #JamesHowells #CityCouncil #TechNews #BTC
🚀 Expert Highlights Slim Chances Of Recovering Lost Bitcoin Hard Drive
#Bitcoin #HardDrive #Landfill #Recovery #LegalAction #JamesHowells #Investigation #UK #WasteManagement #Fortune #BTC
According to Odaily, a waste management expert in the United Kingdom has stated that the likelihood of finding a lost hard drive in a landfill is only 0.00000011%. This hard drive is crucial for recovering a Bitcoin fortune valued at $669 million. James Howells, an IT engineer from Newport, accidentally discarded the hard drive containing the Bitcoin. He is currently pursuing legal avenues to gain access to the landfill or to purchase the site outright. Howells, a computer engineer from Newport, South Wales, believes his former wife mistakenly threw away the hard drive containing the Bitcoin wallet in 2013. He has initiated legal action to enter the local landfill or to seek compensation of £495 million ($609 million) from the Newport City Council.#Bitcoin #HardDrive #Landfill #Recovery #LegalAction #JamesHowells #Investigation #UK #WasteManagement #Fortune #BTC
🚀 UK Court Denies Search for Lost Bitcoin Hard Drive
#UKCourt #Bitcoin #HardDrive #Landfill #LegalBattle #JamesHowells #Cryptocurrency #LostBitcoin #BTC
According to Foresight News, software engineer James Howells has shared a screenshot of the final ruling from the UK Court of Appeal, which prohibits him from searching a landfill where he believes a hard drive containing over 8,000 bitcoins, valued at approximately $680 million, was discarded. Howells mined these bitcoins in 2009 but mistakenly disposed of the hard drive in 2013. Since then, he has been engaged in a lengthy legal battle to gain access to the landfill.#UKCourt #Bitcoin #HardDrive #Landfill #LegalBattle #JamesHowells #Cryptocurrency #LostBitcoin #BTC
🚀 U.S. Appeals Court Rejects Bitcoin Lawsuit Over Seized Hard Drive
#Bitcoin #Cryptocurrency #FBI #Lawsuit #HardDrive #IdentityTheft #CourtRuling #Prime #BitcoinLoss #CryptographicKeys #BitcoinTycoon #Blockchain #DigitalAssets #LostBitcoin #Glassnode #Chainalysis #CryptocurrencyLawsuit #BitcoinSeizure #BTC
According to Cointelegraph, a U.S. appeals court has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Michael Prime, a man convicted of identity theft, who alleged that the FBI illegally wiped a hard drive containing over 3,400 Bitcoin. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Prime cannot sue the government for the loss of access to approximately 3,443 Bitcoin, currently valued at $345 million, as he had previously denied owning such a substantial amount of cryptocurrency.
Prime, who was released from prison in July 2022, requested the return of the hard drive, but the FBI had already wiped it as part of its standard procedures. The court found Prime's delay in asserting ownership of the Bitcoin unreasonable, stating that even if the Bitcoin existed, granting Prime an equitable remedy would be unjust. The judges noted that Prime initially claimed to own only $1,500 in Bitcoin, contradicting his later assertions of being a Bitcoin tycoon.
The court's opinion highlighted inconsistencies in Prime's claims, noting that before his plea deal in November 2019, he claimed ownership of approximately 3,500 Bitcoin. However, after the plea, Prime reported owning only $200 to $1,500 in Bitcoin in his financial disclosure to the government in February 2020. He later informed the probation office that these holdings were his only remaining asset. The court dismissed Prime's explanation that he was reporting the market value of a single Bitcoin at the time, which he claimed was between $200 and $1,500, as Bitcoin's value exceeded $10,000 during that period.
The case underscores the importance of cryptographic keys, which are essential for accessing Bitcoin stored on physical devices like hard drives or wallets. Losing these keys results in the permanent loss of access to the funds. Data from Glassnode indicates that approximately 1.46 million BTC, or nearly 7% of Bitcoin's total supply, is likely lost forever. Chainalysis estimated in 2018 that the amount of permanently lost Bitcoin could be as high as 3.7 million BTC, representing over 17.5% of its total supply.#Bitcoin #Cryptocurrency #FBI #Lawsuit #HardDrive #IdentityTheft #CourtRuling #Prime #BitcoinLoss #CryptographicKeys #BitcoinTycoon #Blockchain #DigitalAssets #LostBitcoin #Glassnode #Chainalysis #CryptocurrencyLawsuit #BitcoinSeizure #BTC
🚀 U.S. Court Rules FBI Not Liable for Destroyed Bitcoin Hard Drive
#FBI #Bitcoin #HardDrive #CourtRuling #Cryptocurrency #LostBitcoin #LegalDecision #DigitalAssets #PANews
According to PANews, a U.S. court has determined that the FBI is not responsible for the destruction of a hard drive containing 3,400 bitcoins. The owner of the hard drive had repeatedly denied possessing a significant amount of bitcoin, leading the government to cease further investigation into the cryptocurrency's whereabouts. Subsequently, the device was disposed of following standard procedures after notification. This incident contributes to the growing amount of irretrievably lost bitcoin, with current estimates suggesting that approximately 3.7 million bitcoins, or 18% of the total supply, may be permanently lost.#FBI #Bitcoin #HardDrive #CourtRuling #Cryptocurrency #LostBitcoin #LegalDecision #DigitalAssets #PANews