New York Woman Discovers Husband Hid $500,000 In Bitcoin During Divorce Proceedings.
With the increasing prevalence of financial infidelity, more individuals are resorting to hiding their wealth in cryptocurrency wallets, away from the knowledge of their spouses.
In a recent case in New York, a woman made a startling discovery during her divorce proceedings when she found out that her husband had concealed 12 bitcoins, valued at $500,000, in a previously undisclosed crypto wallet, as reported by CNBC. This revelation came to light several months into the divorce proceedings.
The woman, known as Sarita, grew suspicious when her husband, who had an annual income of around $3 million, failed to disclose numerous assets in the divorce case.
To uncover the hidden assets, she sought the assistance of a forensic accountant who used blockchain transaction analysis to trace her husband’s cryptocurrency investment.
“I know of Bitcoin and things like that. I just didn’t know much about it. It was never even a thought in my mind because it’s not like we were discussing it or making investments together. … It was definitely a shock,” Sarita expressed.
Divorce attorneys interviewed by CNBC revealed that it is becoming increasingly common for individuals to conceal cryptocurrency from their partners. They lamented this growing trend and pointed out the legal challenges in dealing with digital assets that largely operate outside the control of centralized intermediaries such as banks.
Attorneys in Florida, Texas, New York, and California highlighted that cryptocurrency now plays a role in approximately 20% to 50% of the divorce cases they handle, reflecting its rising popularity as an investment in recent years.
“The thing with cryptocurrency is it’s not regulated by any kind of centralized bank, so usually you can’t subpoena somebody and get documents and information related to somebody’s cryptocurrency holdings,” explained divorce attorney Kelly Burris. She further added that it is relatively easy to hide cryptocurrency assets if one spouse is technologically savvy while the other is not.
According to an NBC News poll, 1 in 5 Americans has invested in, traded, or used cryptocurrency, with men between the ages of 18 and 49 constituting the largest segment among all demographic groups.
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