Incident Tracker / United States (federal)
De Ford v. Koutoulas, No. 6:22-cv-652-PGB-DCI (M.D. Fla.)
·US District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division·US-FEDSanctions
In the securities class action over the 'Let's Go Brandon' meme coin, the US District Court for the Middle District of Florida entered default judgment against promoter James Koutoulas as a terminating sanction. Judge Paul Byron cited fabricated legal authority in at least eight filings, defiance of contempt findings and class-notice orders, and vexatious litigation.
- Court
- US District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division
- Date
- 2026-08-04
- Who used the AI
- Litigant in person
- AI tool
- ChatGPT (per the defendant's public statements)
- Conduct
- Defendant James Koutoulas, litigating largely without counsel in a securities class action over the LGBCoin meme token, submitted fabricated legal authority across at least eight filings (plaintiffs catalogued more than 40 instances), defied class-notice orders, was held in civil contempt and engaged in vexatious motion practice. The Charlotin database records an earlier warning in December 2025.
- Outcome
- Sanctions
- Penalty
- No monetary penalty recorded
- Regulatory outcome
- No separate regulatory disposition recorded
- Status
- Verified against listed sources
- Last checked
- 2026-09-03
Primary sources for this incident
Related regulation records for this incident
No related regulation record has been linked to this incident yet.
Cite this record
SafeLegalAI Global Legal AI Incident Tracker, “De Ford v. Koutoulas, No. 6:22-cv-652-PGB-DCI (M.D. Fla.)”, safelegalai.com/tracker/de-ford-v-koutoulas (accessed 2026-09-04). Data: CC BY 4.0.