Tag Archives: Sam Bankman-Fried

Follow The Money

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On Friday, CNBC reported that the U.S. government has decided not to pursue further charges against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.

The article reports:

  • Prosecutors have decided against pursuing a second trial against disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
  • In a note to Judge Lewis Kaplan on Friday, the U.S. government said that much of the evidence that would have been presented had already been submitted during the first trial.
  • In November, following a month’s worth of testimony from nearly 20 witnesses, a jury found the former FTX chief executive guilty of all seven criminal counts against him.

The article notes:

The second trial, which had been slated to start in March, addressed an additional set of criminal counts, including conspiracy to bribe foreign officials, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business and substantive securities fraud and commodities fraud. 

Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, wrote in the letter to the Court that “a second trial would not affect the United States Sentencing Guidelines range for the defendant, because the Court can already consider all of this conduct as relevant conduct when sentencing him for the counts that he was found guilty of at the initial trial.”

I suppose it is just an incredible coincidence that after Sam Bankman-Fried donated $100 million in stolen customer funds to US politicians, the US Government announced they’re dropping six charges against SBF and will not prosecute him for a political campaign finance violation. Any guesses on what the second trial would reveal about campaign finance violations and the people who received funds illegally?

 

Fighting Extradition

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On Monday, MSN posted an article about the arrest of Sam Bankman-Fried in the Bahamas. He is fighting extradition to America. It should also be noted that his arrest will prevent him from testifying before Congress. Hmm. I suspect, based on the information that has leaked out about where his money went, that the Democrats’ (and possibly some Republicans) worse nightmare is to have this man questioned by Congressmen who actually care about law and order.

The article reports:

A day after he was arrested at a luxury apartment in the Bahamas, Sam Bankman-Fried declared he would fight extradition to the United States, where he faces charges by multiple federal agencies, including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, securities fraud and conspiracy to violate campaign finance laws. The founder of collapsed crypto exchange FTX told Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt that he would not waive his right to an extradition hearing.

In the Bahamas Magistrate Court on Tuesday, Bankman-Fried’s local attorney Jerone Roberts urged the court to grant bail; citing a lack of jurisdiction and that Bankman-Fried is a permanent resident of the Bahamas, according to the Nassau Guardian. (Bahamian media has previously questioned whether the FTX founder is a permanent resident.) Prosecutors argued Bankman-Fried posed a flight risk, and should not be granted bail. Bankman-Fried’s parents were reportedly present; at one point, police escorted a family member to his residence in Albany to retrieve his medication.

Neither Roberts nor Bahamian government officials could be reached for comment at the time of publication.

The article concludes:

At the same time as Bankman-Fried’s court appearance, new FTX CEO John J. Ray III testified before the House Financial Services Committee for a hearing on the crypto investigation. Ray claimed that while his investigation is ongoing, the downfall of FTX “appears to stem from the absolute concentration of control in the hands of a very small group of grossly inexperienced and unsophisticated individuals who failed to implement virtually any of the systems or controls that are necessary for a company that is entrusted with other people’s money or assets.

Bankman-Fried was also scheduled to appear before the congressional committee but was arrested hours prior. Forbes obtained and published his written testimony, in which he blamed numerous associates for the fall and decline of FTX, including Ray, who he claimed had shut him out of attempts to restore FTX US customer funds.

I don’t expect that he will ever actually be questioned by Congress, but that is simply a guess.