Summary
- Sam Bankman-Fried has been indicted with four additional criminal charges, including conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitter.
- The U.S. Southern District Court of New York had previously charged SBF with eight counts, including wire fraud, commodities fraud and money laundering.
- Prosecutors are also looking into alleged illegal donations made by SBF, which he utilized others to contribute to political movements.
Background on Sam Bankman-Fried
Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is the founder and CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange empire FTX. In December 2020, he was arrested in the Bahamas for his alleged involvement in a large financial failure at FTX. This led prosecutors from the United States Southern District Court of New York to charge him with eight counts – including wire fraud, commodities fraud and money laundering. Now, federal prosecutors have announced a new indictment against SBF with four additional criminal charges.
New Charges Against Sam Bankman-Fried
The document alleging these new charges starts with the claim that “From at least in or about 2019, up to and including in or about November 2022, Samuel Bankman-Fried corrupted the operations of the cryptocurrency companies he founded and controlled.” In addition to the original counts that SBF is facing, prosecutors allege that he is also guilty of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitter. Furthermore, they accuse him of tapping into customer assets in order to provide interest-free capital for his own private expenditures without disclosing this risk to customers. Additionally, they allege that although SBF publicly claimed FTX operated independently from Alameda’s cryptocurrency trading and investments in other companies – this was not actually true due to his design.
Illegal Donations Allegations
In addition to these functional issues with FTX identified by prosecutors, they are now further detailing alleged illegal donations made by SBF which were utilized by others in order for him not be tied personally or through business entities with political movements. According to prosecutors’ documents: “Bankman- Fried caused substantial contributions to be made in support of candidates of both major political parties and across the political spectrum…In those instances when he wanted [his name] not be publicly attached [to Republican candidates], Bankman- Fried directed that contributions be made under another person’s name.”
. The industry is still reeling from both the business impact as well as regulatory scrutiny following Sam Banlkman-Frieed’s arrest last December. His new indictments bring more serious implications as this scandal continues developing over time