Mt. Gox Founder Mark Karpeles Disputes Suit Filed in Illinois

The man behind the now-defunct Bitcoin (BTC) exchange Mt. Gox, Mark Karpeles, has filed a motion to can a legal case filed against him in the state of Illinois.

This is according to a report by Financefeeds.

The class action was initially filed in Illinois by Gregory Greene and Anthony Motto, two former clients of Mt. Gox who is looking to hold Karpeles accountable for the money they lost when the exchange collapsed and declared bankruptcy back in 2014. The plaintiffs accused the defendant of criminal conversion, negligence and fraud.

The plaintiffs charged that Mizuho Bank, Ltd., which functioned as the official account of the Mt. Gox exchange, was a trap, as they could deposit money to their accounts, but could not withdraw it. They cited that Karpeles conducted his business in Illinois through the Mt. Gox exchange and its parent company Tibanne K.K.

Later in August, U.S. District Judge Gary Feinerman asked the court to name Karpeles as the main defendant for the assertion. The hearing was to be held on Tuesday, August 28, but Karpeles responded to oppose the case.

Karpeles has filed a motion to dismiss Greene’s and Motto’s case, claiming that Northern District Court of Illinois lacks jurisdiction over him because he is a French citizen who is residing in Japan.

Karpeles also argued that he has not “purposefully directed his activities at the forum state or purposefully availed himself of the privilege of conducting business in that state” nor does the “alleged injury arise out of the defendant’s forum-related activities.”