Kevin O’Leary and his wife, Linda, were in a boating collision on the north end of Lake Joseph in 2019 that resulted in two deaths when their boat struck another.
The couple was returning from dinner near their Lake Joseph cottage on August 24, 2019, at approximately 11:30 p.m.
According to court submissions, on that dark night in August, the speedboat the O’Learys were in, driven by his wife Linda O’Leary, and in which Kevin O’Leary and a family friend were passengers, collided with an unlit pontoon boat. The collision resulted in the deaths of two people, Suzanne Brito and Gary Poltash. Following a 2021 trial, Linda O’Leary was found not guilty of careless operation of a vessel, as the court could not determine if her speed was excessive. Richard Ruh, the operator of the other boat, was charged and convicted for failing to exhibit a navigation light.
In March 2025, crypto influencer Ben Armstrong, also known as Bitboy Crypto, took to X and, during multiple posts, allegedly accused O’Leary of murder and claimed that O’Leary had paid millions to cover up the boating incident.
Kevin O’Leary launched a defamation lawsuit.
Then, on Friday, February 13, 2026, according to Bloomberg Law, Judge Beth Bloom of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Miami entered a default judgment against Armstrong because he failed to provide a substantive response to the lawsuit from O’Leary.
O’Leary won approximately $2.8M.
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hope he gives the 2.8 million to the families of the deceased in this incident. (probably a lawsuit there too) this win does nothing to make his reputation better – only puts the sad story and Muskoka back in the news.
Can!’t stand this guy. Just another Trumper who cares only about money. Hope he stays down there. I am ashamed he’s Canadian!
Uhg. It’s like watching a leech fight a cockroach for 2.8mil. Everything about this is the epitome of gluttonous modernity.
Happy to see it was a crypto guy who was charged with defamation.
Any fame O’Leary had he has lost it in his numerous defences of trump
I think treason would be a better description
As a Canadian he has done little to nothing in defending Canada