FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried Is Arrested in the Bahamas!
Criminal charges against SBF included wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy and money laundering.
Predictions? Hot takes?
Trending Content - Off Topic Forum
Career Resources
Mr. Epstein, call on the white phone for you. Oh wait...
This idiot might have been able to buy himself a year or more with how hard the MSM was carrying water for him, if only he didn't go around doing all these stupid interviews with apparently no preparation or legal counsel present. Across 4 separate Twitter spaces in the last week this doofus flat out admitted to no less than 4 separate felonies right off the bat. The fact this was allowed to happen makes it feel to me that SBF and his team of horny nerds in the Bahamas were not the true architects of FTX/Alameda. Mark Cohen is his new lawyer, the same guy that represented Ghislaine Maxwell (Jeffrey Epstein's affiliate/handler/girlfriend that was convicted of child trafficking to nobody). SBF going down clean after making such a spectacle of himself like he has would be a perfect cover to allow a deep state financing operation akin to what we saw happen during the Iran–Contra affair slowly try to unwind.
Last tweet of one of the founding members of MakerDAO, he was found dead in the water in Puerto Rico 1 day later. Recall that both Epstein's Little Saint James and the Bahamas (FTX & Alameda HQs) are in the Caribbean.
I don't think he gets suicided which has been flying on Twitter and some other crypto groups. I think he gets some sort of sweetheart deal or perhaps I'm completely wrong and they really do throw the book at him a la Madoff. Regardless of the outcome for SBF, I do think he's the distraction from the really interesting stuff being unraveled behind the scenes. The comments from the current CEO who helped unwind the Enron blow up among other complex restructuring efforts said this was the most complex and deliberately obfuscated set of company operations he has ever stepped into. It could take years to unwind everything that transpired here and for all we know this story could get swept away like the announcement of the Pentagon misplacing over $1T vanishing from the collective memory of the country when it happened the day before 9/11.
If the feds were running FTX then why would they pick a fraudster CEO to run the thing and let him drive it to bankruptcy? And what do they even get from it? Billions of dollars just to monitor one of many crypto exchanges?
Seems DOJ slow-rolled SBF, using sealed indictments and not showing their hand until authorities in both US and Bahamas were ready to pounce in a coordinated effort.
US Attorney SDNY
@SDNYnews
USA Damian Williams: Earlier this evening, Bahamian authorities arrested Samuel Bankman-Fried at the request of the U.S. Government, based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY. We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time.
Disappointing they did it right before the testimony. Not sure why they couldn't have waited 24 hours if he was about to go in front of Congress. The dude incriminates himself every few hours so why not let him continue
It would have been fascinating to watch him testify. But maybe DOJ felt SBF was too big of a flight risk and that he would have boarded a flight to elsewhere instead of DC.
Probably makes it harder to have an impartial jury. He's a habitual liar and hasn't shut up; I don't think that anything of value would have come of him speaking for the House.
probably true, but would have been fun to watch
Either they are gonna throw the book at him, make an example out of him, not only because of his criminal actions but to show the evils of crypto in it's entirety. The government and especially the leftists hate everything about bitcoin, crypto etc because they want to control everyone's methods of payment so they can control people. You only have to look what is happening in Canada.
Or he gets off relatively easy because he has these deep ties with the democrats, not only by these huge contributions, he was the second biggest donor after Soros, But also through his parents who seem to be well connected. He has already been defended by multiple leftist media like the NYT, VOX etc.
It was previously unclear whether it was the SEC or CFTC that would be charging SBF - primarily because it was unclear whether the cryptocurrencies would be considered commodities or securities. It appears the answer is both - and charges were brought by 3 agencies - SEC, CFTC, and DOJ. SBF now faces 120 years in prison.
The SEC brought two counts of securities fraudThe SEC was the first to announce charges (pdf) against Bankman-Fried on Tuesday, Dec. 14. The SEC charged the former FTX chief with two counts of civil securities fraud. The government accused Bankman-Fried of violating the antifraud provisions of the Securities Exchange Acts of 1933 and 1934. “We allege that Sam Bankman-Fried built a house of cards on a foundation of deception while telling investors that it was one of the safest buildings in crypto,” SEC Chairman Gary Gensler wrote in a statement.
If found liable, Bankman-Fried would likely be barred from serving as an officer of a publicly traded company and banned from issuing trading securities outside of personal use. Additionally, he could be liable for civil penalties.
The CFTC brought two counts of fraudThe Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the country’s top derivates regulator, charged Bankman-Fried and FTX with two counts of violating the antifraud provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act. The Commission charged Bankman-Fried with one count of fraud and one count of “fraudulent misstatements” to customers. The CFTC has not yet released a statement on the charges.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Justice department brought 8 criminal chargesUS Attorney Damian Williams, the lead prosecutor for the Southern District of New York, brought a litany of criminal charges against Bankman-Fried, including:
Oh, so now they're going to actually define if it's a security or commodity? Hold your breath kids, because this is gonna be [swear word] show. SEC and CFTC might finally have to duke it out and take ownership of what it actually is?
Can you fucking read?
gonna be graped in prison
I predict we'll see SBF's self-directed public relations tour he's taken over the past 3 weeks will come back and bite him in the ass. He's spent weeks essentially confessing to fraud. This is why lawyers don't let you run your mouth when you're at risk of being indicted.
The congressional testimony was fascinating. I particularly enjoyed John Ray's transparency.
Dolore ut aperiam nemo omnis. Doloremque ut ex sed est maiores aut sit. In sapiente quam qui sed delectus sequi. Sequi quos ad similique eos autem omnis accusantium ducimus. Expedita commodi quo aut et quo optio inventore.
Odit velit molestiae quaerat ad. Laboriosam magnam praesentium rerum soluta vero. Ut aut corrupti error et alias dolor est.
Voluptatum expedita et laborum ut. Blanditiis commodi numquam labore itaque quas magni. Veritatis aperiam molestiae aut debitis et.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...