TLDR
- Miami federal judge awarded Kevin O’Leary $2.83 million in default judgment against crypto influencer Ben Armstrong (BitBoy)
- Armstrong falsely accused O’Leary of murder on X in March 2025, relating to a 2019 boating accident where O’Leary was a passenger
- Armstrong posted O’Leary’s private phone number online, urging followers to call him, resulting in a 12-hour X suspension
- The judgment includes $750,000 for emotional distress, $78,000 for reputational damages, and $2 million in punitive damages
- Armstrong failed to respond to the lawsuit or appear in court, leading to the default judgment
A Florida federal judge has ordered crypto influencer Ben Armstrong to pay Kevin O’Leary $2.83 million in a defamation lawsuit. The ruling came after Armstrong failed to respond to the complaint or appear in court.
Kevin O Leary just won $2.8 million dollar defamation suit against Ben Armstrong aka 'Bitboy.'
This is in response to Ben's baseless accusations of Kevin being a murder.. etc. pic.twitter.com/T2dK0D1NNg
— Brian Rose, Founder & Host of London Real (@LondonRealTV) February 14, 2026
U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom entered the default judgment on Friday. Armstrong, formerly known as BitBoy, made false accusations against the Shark Tank star on social media in March 2025.
Armstrong posted multiple times on X accusing O’Leary of murder. The posts referenced a 2019 boating accident in Ontario that resulted in two deaths. Armstrong claimed O’Leary paid millions to cover up the incident.
The court record shows O’Leary was not operating the boat during the accident. He was never charged with any crime related to the incident.
Court Rules on Boating Accident Facts
O’Leary’s wife Linda was charged with careless operation of a vehicle. She was exonerated after a 13-day trial found the other boat was operating without lights.
Armstrong escalated his campaign by sharing O’Leary’s private cell phone number. He urged his followers to “call a real life murderer.” The post received roughly 156,000 views.
X suspended Armstrong’s account for 12 hours following the post. O’Leary reported his phone was “lighting up” with calls after the number was shared.
Judge Bloom found Armstrong’s actions affected O’Leary’s professional and personal life. The judgment awards $750,000 for mental anguish damages. O’Leary will receive $78,000 for reputational damages and $2 million in punitive damages.
Armstrong attempted to vacate the default judgment in January 2026. He argued that incarceration and mental health conditions prevented him from defending the case. Sealed court filings referenced diagnoses including bipolar disorder.
The court rejected Armstrong’s motion. Judge Bloom noted Armstrong had been properly served and waited nearly a year before taking action.
Armstrong Faces Multiple Legal Issues
The defamation case is one of several legal problems for Armstrong. He was arrested in March 2025 in Florida on a fugitive warrant. The arrest related to threatening emails he allegedly sent to a Georgia judge.
Armstrong faces two felony counts carrying potential sentences of five to 10 years each. He was arrested again in June 2025 on six counts of harassing phone calls.
Armstrong was removed from the BitBoy Crypto brand in August 2023. The parent company cited his relapse into substance abuse as the reason.
He was arrested in 2023 while livestreaming outside a former business partner’s house. Armstrong claimed the associate had possession of his Lamborghini.
Armstrong previously built BitBoy Crypto into one of the most-watched crypto channels. The channel surpassed 1 million YouTube subscribers at its peak.
His career was marked by controversy including admitted paid promotions of scam projects. Armstrong dropped a lawsuit against another YouTuber after the crypto community rallied against him.
The CFTC issued a subpoena to Armstrong’s former employer in July 2024. The subpoena was part of a fraud investigation involving 15 tokens. Armstrong and NBA player Jimmy Butler agreed to pay $340,000 to settle claims they promoted unregistered securities for Binance.
Reports from late 2025 indicated Armstrong was close to insolvent. Wallets previously linked to him were largely drained, which may make collecting the $2.8 million judgment difficult.
