[pcthrowaway]

We have no details about what actually happened, perhaps a business relationship gone sour, perhaps the client was using their parents' credit card, or perhaps it was in fact stolen (though it's questionable that the charges would happen for so long if this is the case).

Regardless, irreversible transactions would be more like cash payments. People seldom go around with their private keys for $13000 on paper in their wallet, (though a password protected hardware device would grant similar freedom with less risk), and if they did and it got stolen, it would be up to them to try to move the funds before the thieves do.

I'm not denying that a shit-ton of crypto theft happens, but in this case it seems like there's more to the story than we're getting. If the client had been paying with crypto, it mean they had undeniable access to the funds. Again, it doesn't mean the funds weren't stolen, but I have yet to hear of a case of a recipient of stolen crypto being asked to pay it back.

I'm wondering if there's even precedent for this. As a business owner, if someone walks in and pays cash for goods, then someone else walks in and says the person who just paid you used stolen funds, are you obligated to pay it back? If so, haven't you just been stolen from?