by ersatz_cats
Howdy, folks! No, you’re not seeing double. Normally, I don’t bother with TL;DRs on my long write-ups, both because I prefer to focus on the nitty-gritty details of complicated subject matter, and because I have no respect for your time. But on this occasion, this news is far too important to bury behind the ersatz_cats “pay”wall.
Yes, it is 100% true. Karl Jobst has filed a brand new lawsuit against “Video Game Fraud of the Century” Billy Mitchell, in U.S. federal court in Florida. If you want more details, or to download the filing itself and related media, check out the full write-up here:
https://perfectpacman.com/2026/04/09/breaking-news/
But this page is for the skimmers. It was utterly impossible to give this story the full analysis it deserved while also keeping it light and skimmable. So for this version, we’re just going to cover the basics.
Karl is alleging Billy Mitchell of five counts of “defamation per se”. In other words, these are allegations so egregious and reprehensible, that legally, Karl wouldn’t have to prove specific damages. Like with accusing someone of serious crimes, the law just assumes such claims are harmful on their face.
Count I alleges that Billy published statements claiming Karl had engaged in “serious illegal activity” during the course of his bankruptcy.
Count II alleges that Billy published statements claiming that Karl fraudulently obtained $200,000 through a GoFundMe campaign based on false premises.
Count III alleges that Billy published statements claiming Karl misappropriated $50,000 from a GoFundMe he set up to support defendants in Billy’s other lawsuits, most notably David Race.
Count IV alleges that Billy published statements claiming that Karl had swindled $300,000 from Markus Persson, a.k.a. Notch of Minecraft fame.
Count V alleges that Billy published statements accusing Karl of fraudulently obtaining $500,000, by aggregating these previous allegations.
It is undeniably true that Billy made each of these allegations, and that they were demonstrably false. So the only real legal question is whether Billy knew or had reason to believe they were false, or alternatively if had reckless disregard for the truth. Either way is bad news for Billy. Since they are both public figures, Karl will also have to show Billy acted with “actual malice”.
Count VI alleges that Billy has been aggressively using Karl’s name and likeness to sell merchandise without authorization. This is undeniably true.
Count VII is “Intentional infliction of emotional distress”. I’ll leave it to the legal experts to weigh in on the viability of this claim. Note that the evidence surrounding these last two counts also tie into the “actual malice” standard.
Here’s some of the evidence, rapid-fire style:
Billy endorsed a Reddit conspiracy theory falsely accusing Karl of “a creditor-defeating scheme”:
(Note that, for purposes of this summary, I’m ascribing all of the Twitter activity on Billy’s account to Billy himself. Read the main post for more discussion on questions of authorship.)
Billy accused Karl of “serious illegal activity” during the bankruptcy process:
Karl has included several communications from his bankruptcy trustee which were issued to creditors, including one that confirms their investigations into Karl turned up no illegal activity:
When notified of Billy’s claims, the trustee reached out to Billy specifically for input:
Instead of providing any evidence of “serious illegal activity”, Billy mocked Karl on Twitter, posting an image of himself hanging Karl from a tree:
The bankruptcy trustee were the actual, literal authorities designated to investigate supposed wrongdoing. Billy totally brushed them off, instead accusing Karl to the world of illegal activity multiple times. Karl included an email from the trustee earlier this year indicating they still had not heard back from Billy in their many attempts to seek clarification on his public accusations.
Billy continued making unfounded claims about Karl’s GoFundMe, even after Karl cleared the air in his “Final Lawsuit Update” video. We know Billy is aware of the video, because he (or his son) were mocking the video on Twitter soon after it was published:
In different live streams, Billy himself repeated various allegations, implying criminality on the part of Karl:
If I could pick on you just for a second… You don’t think your question should be: How do you feel about the fact… How do you feel about how [Karl] misrepresented the “lawsuits” with an “s” to take advantage of his audience? Now, some of them were taken advantage of because they were stupid. Some were taken advantage of just cuz they weren’t familiar with the situation and didn’t really care. But… No… I… I think that’s lousy. I think if I did that, I’d probably be in jail.
Just like dmcathis says, you know, he’s claiming that, you know, he’s not getting any money. Of course he’s claiming that. It’s like somebody evading taxes.
It was in these streams where Billy began floating the claim that Karl had fraudulently obtained $500,000 through different fundraisers:
He actually scammed his viewers out of more than $500,000. So there, I’m telling you something that isn’t reported. More than a half a million dollars.
He said that. Okay. He said that, so you believe him. The guy… The guy who took over half a million dollars fraudulently from his listeners. He said it, so you believe it. Tell me I’m wrong!
Publicly, that’s publicly, he had $50,000 in one GoFundMe, 55 I think. And $200,000 in another GoFundMe. So publicly, it was $250,000 donated. Now, if you… Now, for the people who donated privately, that money wouldn’t be seen. Okay. He acknowledged that Notch gave him $300,000. So the $250,000 public dollars, okay, from the two different GoFundMes, and 300,000 is 550,000, okay, that he has acknowledged, like Notch, or was public. How much more private money there was, who knows? Okay. And let’s forget “550”. Let’s just say five-hundred. It’s an easier number. Okay. He deceptively took $500,000 from you, each one of you people that say “Oh, I learned about you through that.”
He took over half a million dollars of people’s money, okay, based upon… Let me be kind… based upon the falsehood. Yes, he took over half a million dollars. I mean… some people argue that you should go to jail for doing something like that. There’s just certain things in the world that I laugh at, and one is, if I did that, I’d… I would, I’d go to jail.
Billy is claiming Karl swindled Notch, even though the money was spent exactly as intended, and Notch himself has been open about his continued support for Karl. Billy doesn’t seem to care much for Notch’s input in this allegation:
Karl has included never-before-seen communications with Notch’s manager, showing that relevant case documentation was forwarded, and that Notch’s attorney approved disbursement of the funds:
Billy is also accusing Karl of fraudulently obtaining the money raised to help David Race defend his lawsuit against Billy. This is especially insane, given that the money was spent exactly as described in the fundraiser, and David’s legal defense was successful. So literally everything was above board. Even worse, David testified in the Brisbane trial that this money was spent as intended, and Billy was present in the courtroom for that testimony.
As for the final two counts, and the standard of “actual malice”, Karl includes several exhibits demonstrating a sustained pattern of harassment tied directly into commercial promotion. This is just a sample of that evidence:
If you want more elaboration on each of these points, sorry, you’re just going to have to refer to the long version. Comments on this page are closed. If you want to participate in the discussion, please do so at the “BREAKING NEWS” page. But to do that, you’ll have to inform yourself first by reading up. I would say i don’t make the rules, but I totally do.