Cryptsy CEO Denies He Stole From His Own Exchange

Cryptsy CEO Paul Vernon has fired back at allegations he moved millions of dollars in funds from the now-defunct digital currency exchange to personal accounts.

In new statements, Vernon told CoinDesk that the finding, issued by the court-appointed receiver earlier this month, is "misleading", arguing instead that the contested money movements came as a result of mingling business and personal accounts.

The allegations stem from an ongoing class action lawsuit filed in Florida earlier this year, a move that resulted in the exchange being placed in receivership.

Vernon told CoinDesk:

"This is an interpretation by the plaintiff with the sole purpose of strengthening their case. Were there business mistakes made during the course of Cryptsy's operations? Of course, every business makes mistakes. One mistake that was made, which is a common mistake in small business, is mixing personal and business accounts."

Cryptsy collapsed earlier this year following months of growing complains about withdrawals. The exchange ultimately closed its doors, blaming a debilitating hack in 2014 that it said had left it insolvent and with millions in liabilities.

Vernon did not not immediately respond to questions about the other allegations included in the filing, such as the claim that he deleted information from Cryptsy’s servers before the receiver took possession of company assets.

He further accused the receiver of "intentionally" avoiding information that "may be detrimental" to his case, while refuting claims about the exchange improperly handled funds held in alternative digital currencies.

"I do not know why the receiver, whom is supposed to be neutral, is cherrypicking information that only benefits the plaintiff," he said.

Representatives for the class-action lawsuit’s plaintiffs were not immediately available for comment.

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