Binance Asks to Be Removed From Crypto Romance Scam Lawsuit

Binance on Thursday asked a federal judge in Texas to be removed from an $8 million lawsuit claiming the crypto exchange “aided and abetted” a romance scam.

Plaintiff Divya Gadasalli is suing the Cayman Islands company in the federal civil court over Binance's alleged role in the scheme, which she said involved cashing out crypto she had bought on Coinbase (COIN). Gadasalli is also suing TD Bank, Abacus Federal Savings Bank and the Poloniex crypto exchange, among others.

Law360 first reported the news.

In its motion to dismiss, Binance told the court that Gadasalli based her allegations on paper-thin assertions and failed to establish a claim.

In addition, the exchange said it does not do business in the United States, and as a foreign entity it is not subject to the “personal jurisdiction” of the U.S. federal court system. Binance cited a number of recent dismissals of other cases in federal court, including in Florida, New York and California.

Lawyers for Binance did not immediately comment when called Thursday. Lawyers for the plaintiff did not pick up the phone.

Danny Nelson contributed reporting.

UPDATE (April 21 21:50 UTC): Clarifies the $8 million refers to what the plaintiff is seeking, not how much she was scammed.