Man accused of stealing $11M in XRP from George Jones's widow files countersuit

Kirk West, the man accused of stealing XRP worth over $11 million from Nancy Jones, the widow of late U.S. country music icon George Jones, has filed a countersuit, Decrypt reported, citing music magazine Rolling Stone. West was arrested last year on charges of stealing $400,000 in cash and 5.5 million XRP from Nancy Jones. In his new lawsuit, West claims he is entitled to a portion of those assets and is a victim of fraud and defamation. According to the report, West approached Nancy Jones after her husband's death in 2013, expressing interest in purchasing the Jones's home, and the two later began a romantic relationship. West, who described himself as a crypto expert, reportedly started giving her investment advice. After ending the relationship and forcing West out of her home last year, Nancy Jones discovered that a Ledger hardware wallet containing her private keys was missing from her safe. While legal action has helped recover over five million XRP, approximately 483,000 XRP, currently valued at more than $1 million, remains unrecovered. West alleges that his sound investment decisions during their relationship created joint wealth. He is now suing for half of Nancy Jones's assets, including the cryptocurrency, $5 million in gold and silver, $1 million in cash, and other precious metals.