Yuga Labs, known as the creator of the popular NFT collection Bored Ape Yacht Club, has initiated legal proceedings against crypto blogger Jeremy Cahen, who is known by the pseudonym Pauly0x. In the lawsuit, the company seeks compensation in crypto assets for evading compliance with a court ruling issued in 2024.
This is reported by Finway
As of October 2024, the amount Cahen is required to pay is approximately $400,000. Yuga Labs has approached the U.S. federal court to demand the enforcement of this amount in cryptocurrency.
The court filing states that Cahen’s assets include Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the PEPE token, which are held in four different crypto wallets.
“Yuga Labs has taken active steps under California law almost every month since the final court ruling to locate and recover Cahen’s assets,” the statement reads.
The case against Cahen and artist Ryder Ripps was initiated back in July 2022 when they launched the NFT collection RR/BAYC—a satirical version of Bored Ape, which the creators positioned as a protest against the original collection. Notable YouTuber Philip Rusnak claimed that the original images contained Nazi and racist symbolism.
In April 2023, the court found that the project infringed on Yuga Labs’ trademark, awarding the company compensation of over $1.5 million. By February 2024, this amount had risen to nearly $9 million, including attorney fees and interest for late payment, as noted in the lawsuit.
The final court ruling came into effect on March 3, 2024, but Cahen has yet to pay any portion of the compensation. He also did not secure a stay of the judgment, which granted Yuga Labs the right to seize assets.
Legal documents indicate that Cahen transferred $396,946 in cryptocurrency just one day after a freeze was placed on his accounts at the Gemini exchange. Yuga Labs believes this may indicate Cahen’s attempts to evade collection.
The company has also issued subpoenas to banks and crypto platforms such as Bank of America, Chase, Wells Fargo, Robinhood, Coinbase, Binance, and Gemini to recover assets.
Cahen claimed that he was not obligated to undergo court investigation procedures due to a filed appeal; however, the court did not grant a formal stay of the judgment.
It is worth noting that in February 2025, the authorities in Puerto Rico placed Cahen on the most-wanted list due to suspicion of aggravated assault. Additionally, in March 2025, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission halted its investigation into Yuga Labs.