Businessman and television personality Kevin O’Leary has secured a multi-million-dollar defamation victory against crypto influencer Ben Armstrong, widely known as “BitBoy.”
On Friday, Miami federal judge Beth Bloom ordered Armstrong to pay nearly $2.83 million in damages after a series of social media posts accused the Shark Tank investor of murder.
The dispute stems from a 2019 boating accident involving O’Leary and his wife, Linda, in which their vessel collided with another boat, resulting in two fatalities. In multiple posts on X in March 2025, Armstrong alleged that O’Leary was responsible for murder and claimed he had paid millions of dollars to conceal the incident.
In her ruling, Judge Beth Bloom noted that Kevin O’Leary was not operating the boat at the time of the 2019 collision and was never charged. While his wife, Linda O’Leary, faced a charge of careless operation of a vessel, she was acquitted following a 13-day trial that found the other boat had been traveling without its navigation lights on.
Armstrong shared O’Leary’s phone number in X outburst
Judge Bloom said Ben Armstrong “escalated his harassment campaign” by posting O’Leary’s private phone number on X and urging followers to “call a real life murderer.” The incident led to Armstrong’s suspension from the platform for 12 hours.
According to the order, O’Leary said his phone was “lighting up” after the post, and the disclosure of his number had a significant impact on both his professional and personal life.
Judge Beth Bloom entered a default judgment after Ben Armstrong failed to respond to the complaint or appear in court. She ordered him to pay $750,000 in damages for mental anguish, $78,000 for reputational harm and $2 million in punitive damages.
The ruling marks another legal setback for Armstrong, who has faced a string of public controversies since his 2023 removal from the BitBoy Crypto brand — once among the most-viewed crypto-focused YouTube channels.
In March, Armstrong was arrested in Florida over emails he sent to Kimberly Childs while representing himself in court. He was later arrested again in July in Georgia on charges related to making harassing phone calls.
Earlier in 2023, Armstrong was also detained while livestreaming outside a former associate’s home, where he claimed the individual was in possession of his Lamborghini.
