X Sues Alleged Operators of Fake Bitcoin News Network

X is suing two men accused of creating a network of fake Bitcoin news accounts designed to manipulate engagement and collect payouts from the social media platform’s creator fund.

The lawsuit identifies Vivek Kumar Sen and Zmyang Sherpa as the alleged masterminds of the operation. X is seeking the return of at least £207,000 ($277,000) in disputed creator-fund payments, as well as additional damages related to its investigation and efforts to address the alleged fraud.

According to the complaint, nine X accounts were involved in the alleged network: @Vivek4real_, @Bitcoin_Teddy, @saylordocs, @TrendingBitcoin, @Kalshibacktest, @PolyBackTest, @BTC_Vibes, @MrSuperBitcoin and @Laserlump.

X claims the accounts repeatedly published fabricated “breaking” news stories, with some posts using identical wording and appearing only seconds apart. Many of the posts allegedly made unverified claims about major financial institutions and cryptocurrency, including claims involving Goldman Sachs and Citibank.

The lawsuit also alleges that the network artificially boosted engagement by repeatedly liking, replying to and reposting its own content. X says the activity created the appearance of genuine popularity and helped the accounts generate revenue.

The complaint further claims that the @Vivek4real_ account promoted paid engagement and social media manipulation services and sought to acquire additional high-follower accounts. In one message cited by X, Sen allegedly discussed moving a conversation to another channel because the parties had not enabled encrypted chat and he did not want to violate X’s rules.

X said it terminated the accounts on August 18 for what it described as “coordinated revenue sharing fraud and platform manipulation.”

The company alleges that the accounts were connected through shared devices, login information and Stripe payment accounts using inconsistent names. In one example, Stripe information reportedly listed “Stefan Mann,” while the associated bank account and email address were allegedly connected to Sen.

X is seeking repayment of the disputed creator payouts and damages for alleged fraud and conspiracy. Senior Legal Directors Diego de Lima Gualda and Adam Mehes signed the particulars of the claim.