Big mistake imo @aggroed. I think you guys are stealing the guy's steem. You didn't block it when you knew it existed under Ned, so imo that opens up a serious legal issue for all the witnesses as well as Ned. I think you should reconsider for your own sake, why on earth would you take this chance?
Right now if you reversed it the damage would be minimal, but if the price of steem moves much it could be a serious problem.
ps... don't forget the blockchain has records of everything. You can bet words will get twisted and a case will be able to be made that the witnesses knew this stake existed and that's all the other side will have to prove to bring you into the case.