MORE THAN 300 U.S. TROOPS, ESTATES & FAMILIES CLAIM THE 127,271 SEIZED BITCOIN — THEY HOLD $1.268 BILLION IN COMPENSATORY JUDGMENTS AGAINST IRAN — THEY SAY A TERROR LAW PUTS THEM AHEAD OF THE GOVERNMENT

On October 14, 2026, more than 300 U.S. servicemembers, their estates and family members filed a claim in Brooklyn federal court to the 127,271 bitcoin the government seized in the Chen Zhi case. They hold judgments against Iran over terror attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq from 2006 to 2011. Their filing puts the total at $2,079,097,984, with $1,268,173,992 of that compensatory. It says Iran hasn’t paid any of it.

Their case runs through LuBian, the mining pool the government says the coins came from. Citing evidence filed in a separate suit, they say LuBian mined for an Iranian company that partnered with Iran’s government on a mine in Rafsanjan. If that holds, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act lets terror victims collect from Iran’s blocked assets “[n]otwithstanding any other provision of law.” The filing goes further: “The Pennington and Driscoll Claimants’ claim is senior to the U.S. government’s claim.”

They’re joining a crowd. On October 14 the Gold Star Claimants answered eight sets of cross-claims from rival victim groups, and in at least seven they deny their rights rank below the other group’s. On October 15 the Havlish Claimants, six groups of judgment creditors, denied that rivals “have any priority over the Havlish Claimants.” The judge has moved the government’s status report on some claims to October 19, 2026.

Here’s what a seizure does to a coin. The Justice Department says these sat in wallets whose keys Chen Zhi held and are now “presently in the custody of the U.S. government.” Since then, ownership has been a question for a judge, and the line of people asking keeps getting longer. These troops claim as many coins as it takes to cover their compensatory damages, valued on whatever date the court picks. The higher bitcoin goes, the fewer coins that takes. At the time of this writing, bitcoin was $82,048.