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Crypto influencer Ben Armstrong, ex-host of the Bitboy Crypto YouTube channel, was arrested last night by Gwinnett County police while livestreaming outside his former business partner's house—who he alleges has his Lamborghini.
This morning, he took to Twitter to confirm the arrest, saying he "did eight whole hours in the slammer."
This comes a month after he was booted from HIT Network which owned the Bitboy Crypto brand which Armstrong made famous and less than a week after a failed bid to reclaim the namesake of the company.
Armstrong posted to Twitter that he would "be going live from a very special location." This location would be the house of crypto investor and consultant Carlos Diaz, who Armstrong claims is connected to HIT network.
During the YouTube live stream, Armstrong alleged that Diaz "wanted to kill him," that he has links with the mafia, and claimed that he's constantly fearing for his own safety.
Around 19 minutes into his stream, the local police arrived to question Armstrong.
The police asked if he had a weapon on him, he did not have one on his person but there was one on the backseat of his car.
While being pat-down searched he is asked if anyone else is in the car. He struggles to answer at first, glancing down at his phone that is livestreaming to 2,500 people but eventually admits that the woman he had an affair with is in his car—he claims his wife knows that they are both there.
Armstrong explains that this woman, named Cassie, is involved in the situation with Diaz. And, that they came to Diaz's house on the way home from his daughter's tennis match.
He then alleges to the police that Diaz has been extorting him, sending him death threats, and stole his Lamborghini. The live stream then goes silent with no image for 17 minutes before it ends.
The Lamborghini in question was allegedly bought by HIT Network and given to Bitboy as an employee. When the network decided to remove Armstrong, they decided they wanted to sell the Lamborghini to "recoup funds" that Armstrong allegedly "stole" from the company.
Shortly after the livestream ended, a listing on the Gwinnett County, Georgia, Sheriff’s Office shows a white male named "Benjamin Charles Armstrong" was put in jail on September 25, 9:11 PM.
It appears he has been charged with loitering/prowling and simple assault by placing another in fear.
Diaz has since released home security camera footage confirming that Armstrong was at his house and rang the doorbell.
Decrypt has contacted Ben Armstrong and HIT Network but they have not responded by the time of publication.
Editor's note: This article was updated on September 26, 2023, at 9:10 am to confirm that Ben Armstrong was indeed arrested.