X has taken legal action against Vivek Kumar Sen and Zmyang Sherpa, accusing the two of operating a network of fabricated bitcoin news accounts to improperly collect creator rewards from the platform.

The lawsuit alleges that Sen and Sherpa coordinated multiple X accounts that published fake cryptocurrency headlines and manufactured engagement to increase creator-fund payments. X, represented by Lewis Silkin LLP, is seeking at least £207,000 ($277,000) in alleged creator-reward payouts, as well as additional damages arising from its investigation and remediation work. The latter costs have not yet been quantified.

The complaint lists nine accounts allegedly connected to the operation: @Vivek4real_, @Bitcoin_Teddy, @saylordocs, @TrendingBitcoin, @Kalshibacktest, @PolyBackTest, @BTC_Vibes, @MrSuperBitcoin and @Laserlump.

X claims the accounts repeatedly posted supposed “breaking” bitcoin news, with many posts using the same wording and appearing just seconds apart. The content allegedly included unverified claims involving major financial institutions and executives, apparently designed to attract significant attention.

The lawsuit cites posts claiming, for example, that Goldman Sachs’ CEO was supporting a crypto bill and that Citibank had purchased $12.6 million in bitcoin.

According to X, the accounts then amplified the posts through coordinated likes, replies and reposts. The company alleges that the activity was intended to give the content the appearance of genuine popularity and engagement.

Claims of Paid Manipulation

X also alleges that @Vivek4real_ was involved in a broader business offering paid engagement and account-manipulation services.

The platform claims the account sought customers interested in acquiring established X accounts with large followings. The complaint includes an alleged message from Sen discussing an account purchase and asking the recipient to move the conversation to another channel because encrypted messaging had not been enabled.

In the alleged message, Sen also expressed concern about getting into trouble over conduct prohibited by X.

X says it terminated the accounts linked to the network on Aug. 18, citing “coordinated revenue sharing fraud and platform manipulation.”

The company alleges that its investigation found additional connections among the accounts, including shared devices, login credentials and payment information.

The complaint says some payments were processed through common Stripe accounts containing different names. In one example, Stripe payment details were allegedly listed under “Stefan Mann,” while the associated bank account and email address were registered to Sen.

X is seeking the return of the creator-reward payments it says were obtained through the alleged scheme, along with damages tied to claims of fraud and conspiracy.

The legal filing was signed by X Senior Legal Directors Diego de Lima Gualda and Adam Mehes.