According to Cointelegraph, AT&T will once again face charges of failing to protect user information after a partial ruling in its favor was overturned on appeal.

The case began in 2020 when crypto investor Michael Terpin sued a high school graduate for allegedly stealing $24 million of Terpin’s cryptocurrency, Trigger, through a SIM swap.

Ellis Pinsky and an accomplice bribed AT&T employees to transfer Terpin's SIM card information to their blank cards in 2018. The case earned Pinsky the nickname "Baby Al Capone" and involves a potentially precedent-setting lawsuit against AT&T.

A panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found that Terpin's claims were dismissed except for his claim under Section 222 of the (federal communications law). The court did not reinstate Terpin's fraud claims against AT&T or his request for $216 million in punitive damages.

Terpin's lead attorney, Pierce O'Donnell, said Terpin will now seek $24 million from AT&T, plus at least $14 million in interest and attorney fees, for a total of at least $45 million.

Terpin initially filed 16 charges against AT&T, but only three proceeded.

Terpin's investigation led him to Pinsky, who returned $2 million. After Pinsky turned 18 in May 2020, Terpin sued him for $71.4 million. Nonetheless, Pinsky agreed to testify for Terpin in his case against AT&T.

In 2019, Terpin successfully sued Pinsky's associate, Nicholas Truglia, for $75.8 million. Truglia was 21 at the time of the theft.