Bruce Lehrmann’s cryptocurrency mystery while in hospital being treated with powerful antipsychotic drugs – as life collapsed around him after Brittany Higgins’ The Project interview

In the midst of his mental breakdown after The Project aired Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations, Bruce Lehrmann dabbled in cryptocurrency while lying in his hospital bed.

Mr Lehrmann checked into the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney the day after Lisa Wilkinson’s interview with Brittany Higgins aired on 15 February 2021.

He was later admitted to the Northside Mental Health Clinic in St Leonards on Sydney’s Lower North Shore for 12 days of a 21-day treatment program during the media storm.

A 260-page log of all his cellphone activity from the day it was broadcast until March 3, 2021, reveals that his girlfriend left him via text messages and his friends stalked him.

But in the middle of a life that was crumbling around him – with only his mother, a close family friend and one Canberra pal still standing by his side – Mr Lehrmann mysteriously logged entries into two cryptocurrency exchanges.

A transcript of his telephone conversations was released by the Federal Court this week as exhibits in Lerman’s libel claim against Lisa Wilkinson and Network Ten.

It shows that on February 27 at 6:14 p.m., Mr. Lehrmann wrote down what appeared to be his username or password for cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase in a notes file on his iPhone.

Coinbase is a website that allows you to buy, sell and receive untraceable cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Twelve minutes later, he registered a username and password for another crypto site, Coinjar, which is often used as a virtual wallet that makes cryptocurrency available for use in the real world.

The apparent usernames and passwords were not redacted in the report on the magazine’s activities published by the Federal Court.

There is no mention of cryptocurrency in Mr. Lerman’s messages or WhatsApp messages before or after the log to explain the interaction, and nothing of the kind occurs elsewhere in the activity log.

It comes 11 days after he turned up at Royal North Shore Hospital’s emergency department the morning after his interview with The Project and told doctors he was planning to commit suicide.

During his treatment, Lehrmann was prescribed the antipsychotic drug Seroquel, he told friends in text messages, which is used to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder.

His hospital records were released by the ACT Supreme Court during his criminal trial over rape charges, which he vehemently denied and which were thrown out after juror misconduct.

“Bruce self-presented to RNS ED (Royal North Shore Emergency Department) due to deteriorating mental status and suicidal ideation,” the records state.

“This comes as Bruce has been contacted by several journalists alleging that he was the perpetrator of a high-profile sexual assault that occurred at Parliament House in 2019.

“Until yesterday, he had heard nothing about it – no complaints, no accusations, no contact with the (alleged) victim.

“It came as a huge shock and he contemplated suicide. These thoughts intensified when he was drunk last night after his friends left.

“He is afraid of these thoughts and denies having any plans. He told his mother and friend about his suicidal thoughts.”

A progress report later added: “Since Monday he has not been able to sleep, eat or rest.” Bruce began to cry.

“He felt completely overwhelmed by the situation. He’s told his mother, his three best friends, his girlfriend and his lawyer about the allegations, but other than that, no one knows what’s going on.

“He reported that he felt lonely and did not know who to trust.”

Mobile phone records show that Lehrmann was on sick leave from his job at British American Tobacco during his treatment.

His tight-knit group of friends, who drank heavily with him after the Project interview and whom he begged to bring him “bags” of cocaine, largely abandoned him within days of the broadcast.

He suspected that one of them had told the media that he had been hospitalized, and they gradually stopped communicating in a WhatsApp group chat until by the end of February there was only one person left with him.

Greta Sinclair, Lerman’s girlfriend at the time the interview was broadcast, also broke off relations with him a few days after the Project’s statements.

After a series of loving messages between the couple on the day the interview aired, things quickly began to escalate.

“I want to be there to support you where I can, but I need to distance myself a little bit because I also need to think about my mental health,” she told him on February 18, 2021.

“I won’t come to visit, but we can still talk every day.”

Lehrmann later responded: “You don’t love me anymore.” Two seconds later he added, “It’s okay.”

Ms Sinclair replied: “As well as my mental problems, I have a lot of issues to deal with so it’s not easy for me and it was scary today when I fell out of reality.”

Five days later, on February 23, she ended the relationship completely.

“I’m having a really hard time dealing with this and a journalist tried to add me on Instagram,” she wrote to him at 11:31 a.m.

“I will be available to talk from time to time, but I have no intention of continuing our relationship. I’m very sorry and I hope you understand.

There is no record of Mr. Lerman’s response.

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