Long-running arbitration reality TV show Judge Judy featured a case earlier this week involving a bitcoin trader and allegations of payment fraud.
The episode, dated 12th November, concerns a man named Dan Haahr who claimed to have been defrauded while trying to purchase a truck over eBay.
Haahr, who sought $2,000 in damages, alleged Marlon Koland of being part of a scheme to steal his money – a charge Koland, a bitcoin trader from Oregon, denied.
Haahr claimed that those behind the scam created a fictitious eBay front through which a bank account number tied to Koland was provided. He said he confirmed that the seller he spoke with was a fraud after speaking with a legitimate eBay representative.
Adjudicator Judith “Judy” Sheindlin, a former New York prosecutor and Manhattan family courts judge, ultimately sided with Haahr. During the episode, she conceded that she doesn’t understand bitcoin, declaring:
“Mr. Koland says that he, too, was a victim. He was trying to deal with something called bitcoin, which I don’t’ understand. If you tried to explain it to me from today to tomorrow I still wouldn’t get it.”
Sheindlin drew contention with the fact that Koland had no proof to back his claim that his bank account – which he conceded had been open for about a month – was closed due to fraud problems. In the end, she awarded Haahr the $2,000 in damages.
It’s important to note that Judge Judy isn’t a real court of law. The hearings constitute a binding arbitration and any penalties assessed are paid for by the show rather than those on the losing end.
Yet the episode does, perhaps, shine a light on how judges with little understanding of bitcoin oversee personal cases involving the digital currency.
The fully Haahr vs. Koland segment can be viewed below:
Hat tip: Reddit
Image via Shutterstock
Source : http://www.coindesk.com/judge-judy-meets-bitcoin-amid-payment-fraud-allegations/
