Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary wins $2.8M defamation suit against Ben ‘BitBoy’ Armstrong

Entrepreneur Kevin O’Leary, known from Shark Tank, won a $2.8 million judgment in a Miami federal court defamation case against crypto content creator Ben Armstrong, known as BitBoy. The award included $750,000 for emotional distress, $78,000 for reputational harm, and $2 million in punitive damages, as Armstrong failed to respond to the proceedings. The suit stemmed from Armstrong's March 2025 posts falsely accusing O'Leary of involvement in a 2019 fatal boating accident, which also included O'Leary's personal phone number, leading to increased security costs. The court found Armstrong acted with actual malice. Armstrong's later request to overturn the default judgment, citing incarceration and bipolar disorder, was rejected because he had proper notice of the suit and delayed action for nearly a year, unfairly prejudicing O'Leary.

(Source：Crypto Briefing)