On Tuesday, September 8, 2026, Oleksii Trofimchuk filed a complaint in the California Superior Court, Santa Clara County, against Stakefish US Inc., Stakefish Inc., Lido DAO, Paradigm Operations LP, AH Capital Management LLC, Dragonfly Digital Management LLC, and Divergence Ventures LLC. The lawsuit, case number 26CV502765, alleges the theft and wrongful retention of approximately 370.361 ETH, a cryptocurrency native to the Ethereum blockchain.
The complaint details that on or about October 8, 2024, a significant amount of Trofimchuk’s ETH was allegedly stolen and subsequently received by the defendants Stakefish and Lido DAO. Specifically, 288.572 ETH reportedly came to rest with Stakefish, while 81.789 ETH was received by Lido DAO. Trofimchuk asserts that both entities were repeatedly notified that the cryptocurrency was stolen and have since refused to return it, despite possessing the administrative and governance mechanisms to do so.
Trofimchuk, a citizen of Ukraine residing in Spain, claims to be the lawful owner of the ETH in question. The defendants are described as various corporate entities involved in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space, including those operating staking infrastructure and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).
Stakefish US Inc. is identified as a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Mountain View, California, and is described as providing infrastructure services for blockchain. Stakefish Inc. is noted as the parent company organized under the laws of the British Virgin Islands. Lido DAO is described as an unincorporated association operating the Lido liquid staking protocol on the Ethereum network.
The lawsuit outlines a series of causes of action, including conversion, receipt of stolen property, money had and received, unjust enrichment, fraud, and unfair competition. Trofimchuk is seeking compensatory damages, treble damages, restitution, disgorgement, and injunctive relief to compel the return of his property. He also seeks the imposition of a constructive trust over the stolen ETH and its traceable proceeds.
The complaint further elaborates on the technical aspects of cryptocurrency, including blockchain technology, private keys, and wallets, to explain how the alleged theft occurred. It details a prior compromise of Trofimchuk’s MetaMask wallet in April 2023, which led to the exposure of private keys for multiple Ethereum addresses, including the withdrawal address for his validators. This compromise placed his staked principal and accrued rewards at risk.
Trofimchuk alleges that the stolen ETH was transferred through a transaction on October 8, 2024, initiated by an attacker using the compromised wallet. This transaction carried an extraordinary priority fee, which was collected by a validator operated by or for Stakefish and deposited into the Stakefish Fee Pool smart contract. The complaint states that Stakefish subsequently retained a commission and transferred a portion of the funds to affiliated addresses.
Similarly, the complaint details that on the same date, a coordinated rescue operation involving MevRefund, a white-hat rescue team, attempted to recover Trofimchuk’s staked ETH. This operation resulted in transactions that landed in Lido’s Execution-Layer Rewards Vault, totaling 81.789 ETH.
The lawsuit highlights that despite repeated demands and notifications, Stakefish and Lido DAO have refused to return the property. Stakefish has reportedly maintained a position that it is a “non-custodial service” and not in a position to assist in returning the funds. Lido DAO, while acknowledging its technical capabilities and a past instance of returning wrongfully received funds, had not, as of the complaint’s filing, voted to authorize a comparable return for Trofimchuk.
The plaintiff is demanding a jury trial on all issues.
Please contact BlockTribune for access to a copy of this filing.
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