A woman who disposed of her ex-boyfriend's hard drive containing 8,000 Bitcoins, now worth over $700 million, claimed it wasn't her fault. She insists she was simply following his instructions when she threw away the device nearly a decade ago.
James Howells, 39, from Wales, claims he mined 8,000 Bitcoins in 2009 after ten weeks of experimentation but later forgot about them, leading to the disposal of the hard drive now worth a fortune.
In an interview, Howells's ex-girlfriend, Halfina Eddy-Evans, explained that she had taken several bags of rubbish, including the hard drive, to the landfill at Howells's request. "Yes, I threw away his rubbish, he asked me to. The computer part had been disposed of in a black sack along with other unwanted belongings and he begged me to take it away," she told The Mirror in an interview.
She emphasized that she had no idea about the fortune contained on the hard drive at the time. "I didn't know there was a hard drive with his Bitcoin password. Losing it wasn't my fault," she said.
Since then, Howells has been trying to obtain permission from Newport City Council to excavate the landfill in hopes of recovering the hard drive. His requests have been repeatedly rejected due to environmental concerns.
In his latest effort, Howells is preparing to take Newport City Council to court in a final bid to search the landfill site. He is suing the council for £495,314,800 (aprox. $620 million) in damages, claiming they are "withholding my property without my consent."
The council has resisted his requests, stating that the excavation is not feasible under their environmental permit and could have a negative impact on the environment. A spokesperson for Newport City Council stated that the excavation "would have a huge negative environmental impact on the surrounding area," according to the Mirror.
Eddy-Evans has expressed frustration with the ongoing situation. "I hope he finds it, not that I want a penny of his money, but it will shut him up! I'd love more than anything for him to find it. I'm sick and tired of hearing about it!" she said.
She also explained that people keep tagging her in social media posts about the lost fortune. "People keep tagging me online, my friends and random people, with his comments about his loss of a fortune," she said.
Howells, determined to recover the hard drive, believes it is currently buried somewhere in 110,000 tons of rubbish in a nearby landfill, which has now grassed over, according to the Mirror.
He maintains that he still owns the intellectual digital property located on the hard drive. "I still own the intellectual digital property located on the hard drive," Howells said.
If successful in recovering the Bitcoins, Howells has pledged to donate 10 percent of any proceeds back to his local area. "It's crazy money that could do so much good for the area," he said, according to the Mirror.
However, the Newport City Council has described the lawsuit as "weak" and is vigorously resisting it, citing concerns about the environmental impact of such an excavation. The first hearing regarding Newport Council's application to dismiss the case is scheduled for December 3, with a judge expected to make a decision on that date.
Eddy-Evans added, "Part of me thinks the council should let the tip site be dug up; it's not helping his mental health with the thoughts of sitting in a fortune he can't get."
As the case continues, both parties await the court's decision, which will determine whether Howells can proceed with his search for the lost Bitcoin fortune.
LadBible, El Colombiano, and OdaTV reported on the interview in The Mirror, among other websites.
This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq