Secretive Melbourne crypto billionaire chases ex-employee over missing $500,000

A secretive Melbourne billionaire is taking a former employee to court, claiming they stole almost $500,000 from his highly profitable crypto exchange.

The case is the second alleged fraud to hit CoinSpot founder and billionaire Russell Wilson, after fraudsters hit the platform in a $40 million heist in 2017.

Documents filed in the County Court by CoinSpot’s parent company, Casey Block Services, claim customer support team member Iresh Pawan Perera shifted $478,932 out of the company and into a personal bank account across 76 transactions in the two years to March.

Perera is accused of converting CoinSpot’s digital currency for “his own use by exchanging it” into cash, according to a statement of claim.

Perera’s job was terminated immediately on March 9, because the alleged “misappropriation conduct” amounted to “material breaches” of his employment agreement.

Perera is yet to file a defence and did not respond to a request for comment. The ex-CoinSpot employee’s solicitor was also contacted for comment.

Wilson, based in Melbourne’s leafy south-eastern suburb of Berwick, is one of the state’s wealthiest individuals thanks to CoinSpot, which last year paid his family and other shareholders $251 million in dividends.