Jump to content

Sam Bankman-Fried

Page semi-protected
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sam Bankman-Fried
Bankman-Fried in 2021
Born
Samuel Benjamin Bankman-Fried

(1992-03-05) March 5, 1992 (age 32)[1]
Stanford, California, U.S.
Other namesSBF
EducationMassachusetts Institute of Technology (BS)
OccupationEntrepreneur
Known for
Criminal statusIncarcerated
Parents
RelativesLinda P. Fried (aunt)
Gabriel Bankman-Fried (brother)
Conviction(s)
Criminal penalty25 years in prison
Date apprehended
August 11, 2023
(15 months ago)

Samuel Benjamin Bankman-Fried[2] (born March 5, 1992), commonly known as SBF,[3] is an American entrepreneur who was convicted of fraud and related crimes in November 2023. Bankman-Fried founded the FTX cryptocurrency exchange and was celebrated as a "poster boy" for crypto,[4] with FTX having a global reach with more than 130 international affiliates.[5] At the peak of his net worth, he was ranked the 41st-richest American in the Forbes 400.[6]

The friendly "math nerd" persona of Bankman-Fried masked significant problems at FTX, and in November 2022, as evidence of potential fraud began to surface, depositors quickly withdrew their assets, forcing the company into bankruptcy. On December 12, 2022, Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas and extradited to the United States, where he was indicted on seven criminal charges, including wire fraud, commodities fraud, securities fraud, money laundering, and campaign finance law violations.[7][8][9]

In the case of United States v. Bankman-Fried, he was convicted of all seven counts of fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering.[10] On March 28, 2024, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison and ordered to forfeit $11 billion.[11][12][13] The trial was one of the most notorious cases of white-collar crime in the United States, with financier Anthony Scaramucci calling Bankman-Fried "the Bernie Madoff of crypto".[14]

Early life and education

Bankman-Fried was born on March 5, 1992, in Stanford, California.[1][15] He is the son of Barbara Fried and Joseph Bankman, both professors at Stanford Law School.[1] His grandmother, Adrienne Fried Block, was a noted musicologist.[16] His aunt Linda P. Fried is the dean of Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.[17]

His younger brother, Gabriel (b. 1995), previously worked as a legislative assistant, Wall Street trader, and director of the nonprofit Guarding Against Pandemics and its associated political action committee, which came under scrutiny by federal investigators after it was discovered that much of the US$35 million on its books had been stolen by his older brother from Alameda Research customer accounts.[18][19][20]

Both of his parents are also being sued by the new owners of FTX, to return assets Sam had given them, in the form of cash and a home, valued at over $32 million. His parents admit Sam gave them the assets as gifts but deny wrongdoing and are currently in court to make their case.[21]

Bankman-Fried attended Canada/USA Mathcamp, a summer program for mathematically talented high-school students.[22] He attended high school at Crystal Springs Uplands School in Hillsborough, California.[23] He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2014 with a bachelor's degree in physics and a minor in mathematics. As an MIT student, he lived in a coeducational group house called Epsilon Theta.[22][24][25]

Career

In the summer of 2013, Bankman-Fried worked as an intern at Jane Street Capital, a proprietary trading firm,[22] trading international ETFs.[26] He returned there to work full-time after graduating from MIT.[22] In September 2017, Bankman-Fried left Jane Street and moved to Berkeley, California, where he worked briefly at the Centre for Effective Altruism (CEA) as director of development from October to November 2017.[22][27]

In November 2017, following fund injections from billionaire computer programmer Jaan Tallinn and investor Luke Ding,[28] Bankman-Fried and CEA's Tara Hedley (née Mac Aulay[29]) cofounded the quantitative trading firm Alameda Research.[22][30] By 2021, Bankman-Fried owned approximately 90 percent of Alameda Research.[22] In January 2018, Bankman-Fried organized an arbitrage trade, moving up to $25 million per day to take advantage of the higher price of bitcoin in Japan compared to the United States.[22][27] After attending a cryptocurrency conference in Macau in late 2018, he moved to Hong Kong.[22][31]

Bankman-Fried founded the FTX cryptocurrency derivatives exchange in April 2019; it opened for business the following month.[22] In September 2021, Bankman-Fried and the entire senior staff of FTX moved from Hong Kong to the Bahamas.[32][33] Bankman-Fried was included on the 2021 list of Forbes 30 Under 30[34] but was also included on Forbes 2023 Hall of Shame list, featuring ten picks the publication wishes it could take back.[35][36]

On December 8, 2021, Bankman-Fried, along with other industry executives, testified before the Committee on Financial Services about regulating the cryptocurrency industry.[37][38] On May 12, 2022, it was disclosed that Emergent Fidelity Technologies Ltd., which was majority owned by Bankman-Fried, had bought 7.6 percent of Robinhood Markets stock.[39][40] In a November 2022 affidavit before the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court,[41] and prior to his arrest, Bankman-Fried said he and FTX cofounder Gary Wang together borrowed over $546 million from Alameda Research in order to finance Emergent Fidelity Technologies' purchase of Robinhood Markets stock.[42]

In September 2022, it was reported that Bankman-Fried's advisors had offered on his behalf to help fund Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter.[43] According to messages released as part of the lawsuit between Twitter and Musk during the latter's acquisition of Twitter, on April 25, 2022, investment banker Michael Grimes wrote that Bankman-Fried would be willing to commit up to $5 billion.[44] No investment actually took place when Musk finalized the acquisition.[45] Bankman-Fried invested $500 million in Anthropic[46] and more than $500 million in venture capital firms, including $200 million in Sequoia Capital, itself an investor in FTX.[47] Sequoia published a "glowing" profile of Bankman-Fried, which it subsequently removed after the solvency crisis at FTX.[48][49][50] In July 2023, allegations emerged that Bankman-Fried had considered "purchasing" the island country of Nauru to use as a bunker in the event of an apocalyptic event, in what has been described as a "misguided and sometimes dystopian" project.[51][52]

Views on charity and market regulation

Bankman-Fried has publicly stated he supports effective altruism,[53] contending that he was pursuing "earning to give" as an "altruistic career".[54] He claimed to make donations "not based on personal interest but on the projects that are proven by data to be the most effective at helping people",[55] such as those that reduced existential risks like nuclear war, pandemics, artificial intelligence, and threats to American democracy.[56]

He was a member of Giving What We Can and donated around half of his Jane Street salary to charity.[57] In June 2022, he signed the Giving Pledge;[58] his name was removed from the list's website in December 2022 following his arrest.[59] Bankman-Fried is the founder of Future Fund, whose team included Scottish philosopher and author William MacAskill, one of the founders of the effective altruism movement. After the collapse of FTX, all members of Future Fund simultaneously resigned.[60] As of September 1, 2022, Future Fund stated it had committed around $160 million to 110 nonprofits.[61][a]

The stated reason for FTX's relocation to the Bahamas was the friendly regulatory environment,[63] and Bankman-Fried openly discussed paying off the country's $9 billion national debt.[64] In November 2022, Bankman-Fried participated in an interview with Vox writer Kelsey Piper over Twitter private messages. He said that his and his company's advocacy for crypto regulation was not sincere and was "just PR", adding that regulators "make everything worse" and "don't protect customers at all".[65] On his "ethics stuff", he agreed it was "mostly a front" and described ethics as a "dumb game we woke Westerners play where we say all the right shibboleths and so everyone likes us".[65] He later claimed to have been referring to ESG, CSR, and greenwashing, as opposed to effective altruism, bed nets, and pandemic prevention.[66][67]

Bankruptcy of FTX

Further information: Bankruptcy of FTX

In November 2022, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao revealed on Twitter that his firm intended to sell its holdings of FTT, FTX's token,[68] which triggered a spike in customer withdrawals from FTX that FTX was unable to fulfill, much like a bank run.[69][70] Binance received $529 million worth of FTT as part of a sale of its equity in FTX in 2021.[71] Zhao published his tweet soon after a report from CoinDesk stating that the bulk of the holdings of Alameda, Bankman-Fried's trading firm, were in FTT.[71] Bloomberg and TechCrunch reported that any sale by Binance would likely have an outsized impact on FTT's price because of the token's low trading volume.[72][73] The announcement by Zhao of the pending sale and disputes between Zhao and Bankman-Fried on Twitter led to a decline in the price of FTT and other cryptocurrencies.[74] Shortly before, Zhao had criticized Bankman-Fried's lobbying efforts.[75]

On November 8, Zhao announced that Binance had entered into a nonbinding agreement to purchase FTX due to a liquidity crisis at FTX.[76][77] Zhao stated that Binance would complete due diligence soon and that all crypto exchanges should avoid using tokens as collateral.[78][79] He also wrote that he expected FTT to be "highly volatile in the coming days as things develop". On the day of the announcement, FTT lost 80 percent of its value.[80] On November 9, the Wall Street Journal reported that Binance had decided not to acquire FTX.[81] Binance cited reports of FTX's mishandling of customer funds and pending investigations of FTX as the reasons the firm would not pursue the deal.[82] Amid the crisis, Bankman-Fried was no longer a billionaire, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.[83] The very next day, Bloomberg reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission were investigating FTX and the nature of its connections to Bankman-Fried's other holdings.[84]

On November 11, 2022, FTX, Alameda Research, and more than 130 associated legal entities declared bankruptcy.[85] Anonymous sources cited by Reuters stated that, earlier in 2022, Bankman-Fried had transferred at least $4 billion from FTX to Alameda Research without any disclosure to the companies' insiders or the public. The sources said that the money transferred included customer funds and that it was ostensibly backed by FTT and shares in Robinhood.[86][87] An anonymous source cited by The Wall Street Journal stated that Bankman-Fried had disclosed[where?] that Alameda owed FTX about $10 billion, which was secured through customer funds held by FTX when FTX had, at the time, $16 billion in customer assets.[88] According to anonymous sources cited by The Wall Street Journal, the Chief Executive of Alameda Research, Caroline Ellison, told employees that Bankman-Fried was aware that FTX had lent its customers' money to Alameda to help it meet its liabilities.[89]

Bankman-Fried resigned as CEO of FTX on November 11, 2022, and was immediately replaced by John J. Ray III, who from 2004 to 2009 had chaired the effort to recover Enron assets for creditors through litigation against numerous banks in the Enron Bankruptcy case.[90] FTX and related entities filed for bankruptcy in Delaware on the same day.[85]

One day after FTX declared bankruptcy, on November 12, Bankman-Fried was interviewed by the Royal Bahamas Police Force.[91] On November 17, Ray stated in a sworn declaration submitted in bankruptcy court that according to the firm's records, Alameda Research had lent $1 billion to Bankman-Fried, adding, "Never in my career have I seen such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information."[92][93]

In the testimony Bankman-Fried had prepared to present in December 2022 to the House Financial Services Committee, he maintained that "[FTX] is solvent" but he was "pressured" by FTX general counsel and former partner at the Sullivan & Cromwell law firm, Ryne Miller, to declare bankruptcy. He also implied that the managing team and the law firms managing the bankruptcy were using the Enron precedent in an effort to reap inordinately large amounts of fees from the process.[94] After his arrest and imprisonment, he did not testify in Congress; John J. Ray III testified instead.[95]

Arrest and charges

On December 12, 2022, Bankman-Fried was arrested shortly after 6:00 p.m. in his apartment complex in New Providence, Bahamas by the Royal Bahamas Police Force, with the expectation that he would be extradited to the United States to face trial.[96] The arrest took place the day before Bankman-Fried was scheduled to appear before the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services,[9] but Forbes obtained and published his prepared testimony.[94]

Earlier that day, the Southern District of New York had charged Bankman-Fried with "wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy, and money laundering." Philip Davis, the Prime Minister of the Bahamas, commented on the arrest that "the Bahamas and the United States have a shared interest in holding accountable all individuals associated with FTX who may have betrayed the public trust and broken the law ... [W]hile the United States is pursuing criminal charges against SBF individually, the Bahamas will continue its own regulatory and criminal investigations into the collapse of FTX".[9][96][97] Braden Perry, a former senior trial lawyer at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, opined that a conviction on any of the charges might result in a prison sentence of years or even decades.[98][99]

After being held at Fox Hill Prison in Nassau for ten days, Bankman-Fried consented to his extradition from the Bahamas to the United States to face charges.[100][101] He was allowed to remain free on a $250 million bond, the largest such bond ever set in an American criminal proceeding. Among the conditions was that he would stay at his parents' home in California.[102]

On January 3, 2023, Bankman-Fried pled "not guilty" to fraud and the other charges.[103][104] On February 1, 2023, the judge presiding over his case, Judge Lewis Kaplan, tightened the bail conditions and forbade Bankman-Fried from contacting current or former employees of FTX without attorneys present. The restriction was imposed as Judge Kaplan considered his contact with a potential witness as a "material threat of inappropriate contact with prospective witnesses",[105] and hinted Bankman-Fried might deserve to be jailed pending trial.[106]

Four additional criminal charges levied against Bankman-Fried were announced on February 23, 2023, primarily focused on his making "more than 300 illegal political donations."[107] A March 2023 indictment accused Bankman-Fried and others that they had "directed and caused the transfer" of at least $40 million in cryptocurrency to Chinese government officials, in order to unfreeze accounts of Alameda Research.[108] In July, prosecutors dropped a campaign finance charge filed against him due to treaty obligations to the Bahamas created by his extradition.[109] In a separate illegal campaign finance indictment in August, Bankman-Fried was accused of using $100 million in stolen funds of FTX customers towards 2022 U.S. elections campaign contributions.[110][111]

United States v. Bankman-Fried

Main article: United States v. Bankman-Fried

The trial began on October 3, 2023, at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse in Manhattan, presided over by Judge Lewis Kaplan. Bankman-Fried faced seven counts of fraud and conspiracy.[112] The Guardian summarized the trial as a question of "whether Bankman-Fried is a crypto criminal mastermind or just an unlucky 'math nerd'". Bankman-Fried was accused of having "stole[n] billions from thousands of people" by funnelling customers' money from FTX into Alameda to fund investments, loan repayments, real estate, and political donations. The defense, on the other hand, told the story of a young but earnest entrepreneur critically out of his depth. Bankman-Fried, they said, worked 12 to 22 hours a day, "didn't drink or party", and wanted to fund more work on pandemic prevention. A series of mistakes from him and his inexperienced executive team, a devastating market crash, and adversarial action from external parties caused his companies to spiral into bankruptcy. But at no point, they insisted, was there intention to commit fraud.[113][114][115][116]

Over a dozen witnesses testified for the prosecution, including three FTX executives – Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, and Nishad Singh as part of plea deals. For his plea bargain, Wang testified that "with some simple tweaks to computer code," he helped Alameda Research misappropriate as much as $65 billion from FTX customers and that he "lied about this to the public."[117] Nearly all the testimony for the defense was provided by the defendant, with small contributions from a risk management expert and a Bahamian lawyer.[118]

Daniel Patrick Moynihan U.S. Courthouse
Daniel Patrick Moynihan U.S. Courthouse

The case revolved largely around two ways that Alameda was able to access the funds of other FTX customers. The first was the line of credit Alameda had on the exchange. A credit line is a relatively common facility that enables an entity to function more efficiently as a liquidity provider, and margin traders on FTX were generally allowed to borrow from one another and do as they pleased with the borrowed funds. However, Alameda's credit line was "essentially unlimited", and it was exempt from posting collateral on the exchange to formally secure the borrows. Senior engineers testified that they had added these features at the direction of their CEO. Bankman-Fried contended that he had merely requested something that would prevent erroneous liquidation. He was not aware of the specific solution implemented, he said, although he was aware that Alameda ultimately borrowed "around $2 billion" this way.[119][120]

Bankman-Fried also denied knowledge of a crucial part of the second way that Alameda accessed customer funds. Before FTX had a bank account, it had used Alameda and other payment processors to receive fiat deposits from customers. "What I believed is that either the funds were just being held in a bank account and not used or moved, or that they were being sent to FTX in one way or another," Bankman-Fried testified. He assumed that if Alameda had been spending the funds, that would have been reflected as a borrow on Alameda's main account on FTX. Not until October or November 2022, did he claim that he finally confirmed otherwise. The main Alameda account was not tracking these transactions and Alameda had taken $8 billion. Other FTX executives conceded that "it seemed like he might not know" exactly how these funds were being processed and that while FTX's systems were tracking this liability, it was not displayed on the admin user's dashboard. But they also emphasized that ultimately at both businesses, Bankman-Fried was the only individual in charge.[120][121]

Much attention was given to the contrast between Bankman-Fried's public statements about his companies and the private realities. For example, on November 8, 2022, he had tweeted, "FTX is fine. Assets are fine." One FTX executive said these statements were false after first describing them to prosecutors as true but "misleading" because Bankman-Fried had been careful to talk solvency rather than liquidity. Misleading but technically true statements were a common theme. Bankman-Fried maintained, for instance, that he had never said Alameda was treated the same as other customers in all respects, only that Alameda was not front-running other customers. He also claimed to have only skimmed the "dishonest" balance sheets that Alameda's CEO sent to lenders and the defense made a great effort to demonstrate her autonomy in the role, the prime example being her refusal to follow Bankman-Fried's advice to hedge against a market downturn.[122][123][124]

Trial conclusion

The trial ended on November 2, 2023, with the jury pronouncing Bankman-Fried guilty on all seven counts. The sentencing hearing was scheduled for March 28, 2024.[125] Federal criminal court sentencing experts speculated on the potential amount of prison time likely to be meted out.[126][127][128] On March 28, 2024, the court sentenced Bankman-Fried to 25 years in prison.[129] Under provisions of the First Step Act and in conjunction with other time credit programs, Bankman-Fried may actually serve approximately 18 years.[130] The court ordered the defendant to pay the sum of $11.02 billion in forfeiture for engaging in a series of fraudulent actions against customers and investors.[11]

Second trial dismissed

A second trial, on five charges including bank fraud and bribery, was originally scheduled for early March 2024. These charges were brought by federal prosecutors after Bankman-Fried was extradited from the Bahamas in December 2022. He had asked for these charges to be dismissed because they were not part of the extradition agreement with Bahamian authorities, or alternatively he requested that they be resolved under a separate trial.[131][132]

Prosecutors announced on December 30, 2023 that they would not proceed to a second trial, stating that its benefits would be outweighed by the "strong public interest" to promptly resolve the case. Furthermore, a second trial would not affect how much time Bankman-Fried could face in prison under recommended federal guidelines.[133]

Appeal

On April 11, 2024, Bankman-Fried appealed his conviction and the 25-year prison sentence. It is believed the appeals process could take years. The appeal would need to convince higher courts that Judge Lewis Kaplan made significant errors that deprived Bankman-Fried of his legal rights and made the trial unfair.[134]

Incarceration history

Bankman-Fried at the Metropolitan Detention Center in 2023

Prior to August 11, 2023, Bankman-Fried was out on bail and living with his parents under court ordered restrictions. On July 26, 2023, prosecutors alleged witness tampering after Bankman-Fried gave a reporter personal writings of former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison.[135] Three weeks later, on August 11, after Judge Kaplan concluded that witness tampering had likely occurred, he revoked Bankman-Fried's bail; Bankman-Fried was led from the courtroom in handcuffs and remanded into custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn.[136][137]

On August 22, 2023, Bankman-Fried's counsel averred that his client was not being provided a vegan diet and that his medications for ADHD and depression were running low.[138] He added that Bankman-Fried could not prepare for the trial subsisting on bread, water, and peanut butter.[139] By November 2023, it was reported he had access to a vegetarian diet and prescription drugs and that he was participating in the "mack" economy by buying packets of mackerel from the prison commissary and exchanging them for services from other prisoners, such as a haircut.[140] After his trial conviction and sentencing, Bankman-Fried was assigned register number 37244-510.[141] He requested to remain incarcerated in MDC Brooklyn while he pursued an appeal.[142] As of late September 2024, he was assigned to the same dormitory-style cell as Sean Combs.[142]

Donations

Politics

2020 and earlier

Bankman-Fried's only campaign finance activity prior to 2019 was a $1,000 contribution in 2010 to Michael Bennet.[143] For the 2020 U.S. elections, he contributed $5.2 million to two super PACs that supported the Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign.[143] Bankman-Fried was the second-largest individual donor to Biden in the 2020 election cycle,[144] after Michael Bloomberg.[54][145]

2021–2022

Contributions were made to both U.S. political parties, with SBF saying he gave an equal amount.[146] For Democrats, Bankman-Fried donated $27 million to Protect Our Future, a Democratic PAC.[147] During the 2021-22 election cycle, he gave $990,000 to Democrat candidates and $38.8m to outside groups, according to public records.[146]

Public records showed donations to Republican Party campaigns in the 2021–22 cycle of $262,200,[148] including donations to senators Susan Collins of Maine, Mitt Romney of Utah, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Ben Sasse of Nebraska.[143] Journalist Matthew Kassel says that Bankman-Fried had often donated to politicians who cultivate good Israel–United States relations but concluded "it is unclear if his backing of pro-Israel candidates was coincidental or motivated by any personal interest in Middle East policy."[149] Bankman-Fried said he donated additional money to Republicans through dark money channels. "All my Republican donations were dark," he said because the press were "super liberal" and he wanted to keep it secret.[146]

2022 U.S. midterm elections

Bankman-Fried was the second-largest individual donor to Democratic causes for the 2022 U.S. elections, with total donations of $39.8 million, only behind George Soros,[150][151][152] of which $27 million was given to the Protect Our Future PAC.[153][154][155] Additional recipients included The Next 50 PAC, Guarding Against Pandemics PAC, and the leadership PAC for Brendan Boyle.[20][156][157] Bankman-Fried said in February 2022 that his political contributions were not aimed at influencing his policy goals for the cryptocurrency ecosystem; however, FTX was circulating a list of suggestions to policymakers at the time.[143] He said in an interview that he would prefer the Commodity Futures Trading Commission take a larger role in regulating and guiding the crypto industry.[143] According to The New York Times, the CFTC has a reputation for favoring relatively relaxed regulations for the industry when contrasted with other regulators like the Securities and Exchange Commission.[158]

Bankman-Fried pushed for regulations via the proposed Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act (DCCPA) by extensively lobbying Congress, which was perceived as being favorable to FTX but harmful to the broader industry, especially its decentralized finance competitors.[159][160][161] In May 2022, Bankman-Fried stated that he planned to spend "north of $100 million" in the 2024 presidential election with a "soft ceiling" of $1 billion.[162] In October 2022, he walked back his pledged spending, calling it a "dumb quote on my part".[163] However, in Going Infinite, Michael Lewis revealed that Bankman-Fried had begun to investigate the legality of directly paying Donald Trump not to run for president in 2024, with Trump's team allegedly giving a potential figure of $5 billion.[64]

In the aftermath of the FTX scandal, recipients of Bankman-Fried's and other FTX executives' political campaign contributions have been donating equal amounts to charitable organizations. Elected officials doing so include Senator Kirsten Gillibrand,[164] as well as Representatives Chuy García and Kevin Hern.[165] A spokesperson for former Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke said that his campaign had received a $1 million donation from Bankman-Fried in October 2022 but returned the funds in early November, prior to the election.[166]

Bankman-Fried and his younger brother, Gabriel, contributed toward pandemic prevention initiatives, according to an investigative report by The Washington Post.[167] One funding recipient was the Guarding Against Pandemics PAC, founded by Gabriel.[20] On May 15, 2022, FTX announced it had donated $18 million to support "TOGETHER Trial," a private, international, research consortium conducting clinical trials to test existing drugs as treatments for various conditions, including COVID-19.[168][169]

On July 20, 2023, an Insiders Avoidance Complaint was filed against Bankman-Fried and three former FTX/Alameda senior executives seeking to recover "hundreds of millions of dollars that Defendants misappropriated." The plaintiffs were FTX Trading Ltd., Alameda Research LLC, Alameda Research Ltd., North Dimension Inc., Cottonwood Grove Ltd., and Realm Shires, Inc. Their complaint stated that Guarding Against Pandemics—which received $35 million from Bankman-Fried between October 2021 and May 2022—and its associated political action committee "needless to say, did nothing to prevent pandemics."[170]

Attempts to recoup donations

In December 2022, FTX's new management commenced efforts to "claw back" donations that had been made to politicians, celebrities, and charities as part of its bankruptcy proceedings. The company announced that it "intends to...require the return of such payments, with interest accruing from the date any action is commenced." Reports on this development included the assessment that "clawing back payments made to politicians and charities is likely to be one of the easier parts of the bankruptcy process," on the basis of U.S. legislation that presumes "payments or transfers made within 90 days of bankruptcy to be preferential if they result in a creditor getting more than it would have been entitled to at the end of the bankruptcy process," with the caveat that a "clawback can attempt to recover the difference in the payments."[171]

By April 2023, $7.3 billion[172] of the original $8 billion[173] in missing funds had been recuperated in liquid assets. While an anonymous bidder reportedly valued the remaining portfolio at "at least $2 billion",[56] Bloomberg's Matt Levine noted that "'We lucked into enough money to pay everyone back' is not a legal defense to fraud".[174] In October 2023, FTX and its affiliated debtors revealed a proposed settlement of customer-property disputes, set to be presented for approval to the competent bankruptcy court. Accounting for both priority and non-priority claims against FTX, the settlement's parties offered their estimate that customers of FTX.com and FTX US would receive, collectively, over 90% of distributable value worldwide.[175][176]

Personal life

Bankman-Fried is vegan.[31] He was raised in a Jewish family.[177][149] As of mid-2021, it was reported that he lived with approximately 10 roommates in a five-bedroom Bahamian penthouse bought by co-CEO of FTX Ryan Salame.[25][56][178] After FTX's collapse, the penthouse was put up for sale for close to $40 million.[179] Bankman-Fried had a relationship with Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison that lasted around six months and ended on April 15, 2022.[56][180] While testifying against him in court in October 2023, she claimed that his hairstyle and clothes were part of a "well calculated" image that he tried to project. She stated that Bankman-Fried believed he had received higher bonuses while working at Jane Street because of his hair and used his appearance as "an important part" of FTX's "narrative and image."[181] In court, he appeared wearing a grey suit with trimmed hair.[182]

Bankman-Fried once played the video game League of Legends while on a call attempting to secure an investment from Sequoia Capital by talking about how FTX would become a “super app.” The investors were "incredibly impressed,” with one calling the call “one of those your-hair-is-blown-back type of meetings.” Afterward, Sequoia ended up investing over $200 million in FTX.[183] An article in the Financial Times later characterized Bankman-Fried's "win ratios" in League of Legends as "average-to-bad".[184]

Τhroughout the legal process, Bankman-Fried's parents stood by him, writing in a December 2022 letter, around the time of the arrest, "You are innocent." In an e-mail to The New Yorker, his mother, Barbara Fried, denounced the actions of the prosecution and the bankruptcy team as "McCarthyite" and a "relentless pursuit of total destruction," which is enabled by "a credulous public." After Bankman-Fried was incarcerated during the trial, his parents took turns traveling every Tuesday from California to be with him at the Brooklyn jail where he awaited the outcome of his trial, and the sentencing phase.[185] She wrote a letter to the judge in February 2024 arguing for lenient sentencing, saying that Bankman-Fried would face extreme danger in prison because he has "trouble responding appropriately to many social cues".[186]

Notes

  1. ^ In the meantime, Bankman-Fried reportedly had spent approximately $135 million on naming rights for Miami Heat's basketball arena and an estimated $30 million on a single Super Bowl ad.[62]

References

  1. ^ a b c Lewis, Michael (November 2, 2023). "Sam Bankman-Fried: the rise and crash of a crypto billionaire". The Times. Archived from the original on November 2, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2023. Excerpt from Going Infinite.
  2. ^ Sharwood, Simon. "Crypto villain Sam Bankman-Fried arrested in Bahamas". The Register. Archived from the original on January 5, 2023. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  3. ^ Turner, Matt; Rosen, Phil; Erb, Jordan Parker (December 19, 2021). "Sam Bankman-Fried went from relative obscurity to crypto billionaire in just 4 years. Insiders explain how he did it, and what's next". Business Insider. Archived from the original on November 11, 2022. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  4. ^ Q. ai (December 13, 2022). "What Happened To Crypto Giant FTX? A Detailed Summary Of What We Actually Know So Far". Forbes. Archived from the original on October 20, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  5. ^ Osipovich, Alexander; Saeedy, Alexander; Gladstone, Alexander (December 4, 2022). "Clashes Over FTX Bankruptcy Go Global". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on October 20, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  6. ^ "Sam Bankman-Fried". Forbes. Archived from the original on December 30, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  7. ^ Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs (December 13, 2022). "FTX Founder Indicted for Fraud, Money Laundering, and Campaign Finance Offenses". Archived from the original on December 28, 2022. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
  8. ^ "The SBF indictment in full". Financial Times. December 13, 2022. Archived from the original on December 23, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  9. ^ a b c Betz, Bradford (December 12, 2022). "FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried arrested in Bahamas, US expected to request extradition, authorities say". FOXBusiness. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  10. ^ Yaffe-Bellany, David; Goldstein, Matthew; Edward Moreno, J. (November 2, 2023). "Fallen Crypto Mogul Convicted in Collapse That Cost Users Billions". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 2, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  11. ^ a b "Samuel Bankman-Fried Sentenced to 25 Years for His Orchestration of Multiple Fraudulent Schemes". Justice.gov. U.S. Department of Justice. April 30, 2005. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  12. ^ "Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison for fraud". United Press International. March 28, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  13. ^ Neumeister, Larry; Sweet, Ken (March 28, 2024). "Fallen crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison". Associated Press. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  14. ^ The Collapse Of FTX: Insiders Tell All | CNBC Documentary. Retrieved May 6, 2024 – via www.youtube.com.
  15. ^ Zeidan, Adam (November 10, 2023). "Sam Bankman-Fried". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  16. ^ "Adrienne Block Obituary". legacy.com. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  17. ^ "Paid Notice: Deaths BLOCK, ADRIENNE FRIED". query.nytimes.com. Archived from the original on January 27, 2018. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  18. ^ Murphy, Heather Tal (November 7, 2023). "The Other Bankman-Fried". Slate. Retrieved November 16, 2023. The fact that most of this funding was coming from Gabe's brother was never a secret. At least $10 million of the $17.5 million to $35 million Sam donated to GAP—and maybe much more—came from a mixture of customer and non-customer accounts at his hedge fund, Alameda Research, according to estimates from federal prosecutors and bankruptcy filings.
  19. ^ Goldstein, Matthew (March 24, 2023). "The Younger Brother Caught in the Middle of the FTX Investigation". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 19, 2023. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  20. ^ a b c Hart, Jordan (November 27, 2022). "Inside the $3 million DC townhouse where FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried's brother hosted parties for his COVID-19 nonprofit". Business Insider. Archived from the original on December 3, 2022. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  21. ^ Tangermann, Victor (January 18, 2024). "Sam Bankman-Fried's Parents Aghast at Lawsuit Asking for FTX Money Back". Futurism.
  22. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Parloff, Roger (August 12, 2021). "Portrait of a 29-year-old billionaire: Can Sam Bankman-Fried make his risky crypto business work?". Yahoo!Finance. Archived from the original on June 24, 2022. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  23. ^ Fisher, Adam (September 22, 2022). "Sam Bankman-Fried Has a Savior Complex—And Maybe You Should Too". Sequoia Capital. Archived from the original on November 10, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  24. ^ "The Team". Alameda Research. Archived from the original on January 15, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  25. ^ a b Chan, Michelle (June 25, 2021). "Hong Kong's 29-year-old crypto billionaire: FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried". Nikkei Asia. Archived from the original on January 13, 2022. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  26. ^ "The Ex-Trader Building a Multi-Billion Crypto Empire (Podcast)". Bloomberg. March 31, 2021. Archived from the original on November 27, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  27. ^ a b Wallace, Benjamin (February 2, 2021). "The Mysterious Cryptocurrency Magnate Who Became One of Biden's Biggest Donors". Intelligencer. Archived from the original on November 15, 2022. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  28. ^ "Charity-linked money launched Sam Bankman-Fried's empire | Semafor". semafor.com. December 7, 2022. Archived from the original on October 5, 2023. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  29. ^ "How the audacity to fix things without asking permission can change the world". 80,000 Hours. June 22, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  30. ^ Nicolle, Emily; Irrera, Anna; Griffin, Donal (July 14, 2022). "Celsius Bankruptcy Filing Shows Long Reach of FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on November 13, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  31. ^ a b Lipton, Eric; Livni, Ephrat (August 19, 2021). "Crypto Nomads: Surfing the World for Risk and Profit". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on August 27, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  32. ^ "Inside Sam Bankman-Fried's extravagant penthouse lifestyle in the Bahamas, where the T-shirt-clad FTX founder lived like royalty". Archived from the original on November 3, 2023. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  33. ^ "Sam Bankman-Fried says FTX has moved its HQ from Hong Kong to the Bahamas because of its crypto framework". Archived from the original on November 5, 2023. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  34. ^ "Finance". Forbes. Archived from the original on December 30, 2022.
  35. ^ "Hall Of Shame: The 10 Most Dubious People Ever To Make Our 30 Under 30 List". Forbes. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  36. ^ Porter, Jon (November 29, 2023). "Forbes publishes 30 Under 30 "Hall of Shame."". The Verge. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  37. ^ Livni, Ephrat (December 8, 2021). "Congress gets a crash course on cryptocurrency". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 2, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  38. ^ Kiernan, Paul (December 9, 2021). "Crypto Executives Defend Industry as Congress Considers Oversight". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on July 24, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  39. ^ "US SEC Schedule 13D, Robinhood Markets, Inc". Archived from the original on August 2, 2022. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  40. ^ Macheel, Tanaya (May 12, 2022). "Robinhood shares pop more than 20% after Sam Bankman-Fried buys 7.6% stake". CNBC. Archived from the original on June 28, 2022. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  41. ^ "Affirmation of Samuel Benjamin Bankman-Fried" (PDF). CourtListener.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 27, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  42. ^ Ge Huang, Vicky (December 27, 2022). "Sam Bankman-Fried Borrowed Funds From Alameda to Buy Robinhood Shares". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on December 28, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  43. ^ Kay, Grace; Hays, Kali (September 30, 2022). "Text messages reveal Sam Bankman-Fried's guru told Elon Musk the crypto billionaire was potentially interested in buying Twitter". Business Insider. Archived from the original on September 30, 2022. Retrieved October 1, 2022 – via Yahoo!Finance.
  44. ^ Bove, Tristan (October 1, 2022). "Elon Musk seems to have ghosted an offer of up to $15 billion from FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried's adviser to invest in Twitter". Fortune. Archived from the original on October 2, 2022. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  45. ^ "'He owns 0%': Elon Musk rubbishes claims that Sam Bankman-Fried owns shares in Twitter". November 24, 2022. Archived from the original on June 18, 2023. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
  46. ^ Matthews, Dylan (July 17, 2023). "The $1 billion gamble to ensure AI doesn't destroy humanity". Vox. Archived from the original on October 3, 2023. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  47. ^ Clark, Kate (November 10, 2022). "FTX's Bankman-Fried Quietly Invested More than $500 Million in Sequoia and Other VCs". The Information. Archived from the original on November 12, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  48. ^ Nguyen, Britney (November 11, 2022). "FTX investor Sequoia removed its glowing 13,000-word profile of Sam Bankman-Fried and replaced it with somber note after its investment cratered to $0". Business Insider. Archived from the original on November 12, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  49. ^ Griffith, Erin; Yaffe-Bellany, David (November 11, 2022). "Investors Who Put $2 Billion Into FTX Face Scrutiny, Too". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 12, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  50. ^ Fisher, Adam (September 22, 2022). "Sam Bankman-Fried Has a Savior Complex—And Maybe You Should Too". Archived from the original on November 9, 2022. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  51. ^ Tremayne-Pengelly, Alexandra (July 24, 2023). "Who Would Have Been Invited into Sam Bankman-Fried's Doomsday Bunker?". Observer. Archived from the original on July 26, 2023. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  52. ^ Ables, Kelsey (July 26, 2023). "The enduring appeal of remote Pacific islands for rich apocalypse preppers". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on August 9, 2023. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  53. ^ Lewis-Kraus, Gideon (August 8, 2022). "The Reluctant Prophet of Effective Altruism". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Archived from the original on November 11, 2022. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  54. ^ a b Osipovich, Alexander (April 16, 2021). "This Vegan Billionaire Disrupted the Crypto Markets. Stocks May Be Next". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on June 4, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  55. ^ Schleifer, Theodore (March 20, 2021). "How a crypto billionaire decided to become one of Biden's biggest donors". Vox. Archived from the original on November 16, 2022. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  56. ^ a b c d Lewis, Michael (October 3, 2023). Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon. United States: W. W. Norton & Company. pp. 155, 164, 247. ISBN 978-1-324-07433-5.
  57. ^ "A 30-Year-Old Crypto Billionaire Wants to Give His Fortune Away". Bloomberg.com. April 3, 2022. Archived from the original on July 9, 2022. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  58. ^ Beaty, Thalia; Gamboa, Glenn; Associated Press (November 14, 2022). "Facebook co-founder blames SBF's 'effective altruism' mindset for FTX troubles". Fortune. Archived from the original on November 17, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  59. ^ Alexander, Sophie (December 14, 2022). "Sam Bankman-Fried Cut From Giving Pledge Website After Arrest". Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on December 14, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  60. ^ Alexander, Sophie (November 11, 2022). "Bankman-Fried's 'Effective Altruism' Implodes With His Fortunes". Bloomberg News. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  61. ^ Christian, Alex (October 10, 2023). "FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried believed in 'effective altruism'. What is it?". BBC. Archived from the original on October 10, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  62. ^ DeGeurin, Mack (November 11, 2022). "Sam Bankman-Fried's 'Effective Altruism' Team Resigns Amid FTX Meltdown". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on November 11, 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  63. ^ "How The FTX Implosion Sets Back the Bahamas Tech Scene". Time. March 30, 2023. Archived from the original on June 1, 2023. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  64. ^ a b Wertheim, Jon (October 1, 2023). "Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX at center of new Michael Lewis book "Going Infinite"". 60 Minutes. Archived from the original on October 2, 2023. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  65. ^ a b Piper, Kelsey (November 16, 2022). "Sam Bankman-Fried tries to explain himself". Vox. Archived from the original on December 27, 2022. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  66. ^ Times, The New York (December 1, 2022). "Transcript of Sam Bankman-Fried's Interview at the DealBook Summit". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 9, 2023. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  67. ^ "The Confessions of S.B.F." Puck. December 6, 2022. Archived from the original on October 20, 2023. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  68. ^ Ostroff, Caitlin (November 7, 2022). "Binance to Sell Holdings of FTX's Token as Relations Between Crypto Exchanges Fray". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on November 7, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  69. ^ Wilson, Tom; Berwick, Angus (November 8, 2022). "Crypto exchange FTX saw $6 bln in withdrawals in 72 hours". Reuters.
  70. ^ Lagerkranser, Philip; Nicolle, Emily; Shukla, Sidhartha (November 7, 2022). "Binance's CZ and FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried Trade Barbs Over Twitter". Bloomberg.
  71. ^ a b Kharif, Olga (November 6, 2022). "Binance To Sell $529 Million of Bankman-Fried's FTT Token". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on November 12, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  72. ^ Lagerkranser, Philip; Nicolle, Emily; Shukla, Sidhartha (November 7, 2022). "Binance's CZ and FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried Trade Barbs Over Twitter". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on November 12, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  73. ^ Melinek, Jacquelyn (November 7, 2022). "Here's the rundown on the Binance and FTX fiasco". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on November 7, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  74. ^ Lagerkranser, Philip; Ossinger, Joanna (November 8, 2022). "Crypto Billionaires' Brawl Triggers Contagion Fears in Markets". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on November 12, 2022. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  75. ^ Zeitchik, Steven (November 9, 2022). "This enigmatic billionaire just took down a crypto rock star". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on November 12, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  76. ^ Yang, Yueqi (November 8, 2022). "CZ's Binance to Buy Rival FTX After Sam Bankman-Fried Faces Liquidity Crunch". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on November 11, 2022. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  77. ^ Ge Huang, Vicky; Ostroff, Caitlin (November 8, 2022). "Crypto Exchange Binance Agrees to Acquire Rival FTX". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  78. ^ Singh, Manish (November 8, 2022). "Crypto giant Binance to acquire rival FTX following 'liquidity crunch'". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  79. ^ "Binance plans to buy rival FTX in bailout as crypto market crumbles". South China Morning Post. Reuters. November 9, 2022. Archived from the original on November 10, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  80. ^ Sigalos, MacKenzie (November 8, 2022). "FTX's token plunges 80% on liquidity concerns, wiping out over $2 billion in value". CNBC. Archived from the original on November 9, 2022. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  81. ^ Kowsmann, Patricia; Ostroff, Caitlin; Jin, Berber (November 9, 2022). "Binance Says It Will Walk Away from Deal to Buy FTX". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on November 9, 2022.
  82. ^ Sigalos, MacKenzie; Rooney, Kate (November 9, 2022). "Binance backs out of FTX rescue, leaving the crypto exchange on the brink of collapse". CNBC. Archived from the original on November 19, 2022. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  83. ^ Ligon, Cheyenne (November 9, 2022). "Crypto's golden boy Sam Bankman-Fried sees $14.6 billion wiped from his personal wealth overnight after agreeing FTX bailout deal". Fortune. Archived from the original on November 15, 2022. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  84. ^ Beyoud, Lydia; Yang, Yueqi; Kharif, Olga (November 9, 2022). "Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX Empire Faces US Probe Into Client Funds, Lending". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on January 15, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  85. ^ a b Hill, Jeremy (November 11, 2022). "FTX Goes Bankrupt in Stunning Reversal for Crypto Exchange". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on November 13, 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  86. ^ Evans, Brian (November 10, 2022). "Sam Bankman-Fried secretly transferred FTX customer funds to Alameda Research after his trading firm suffered losses in the spring, report says". Markets Insider. Archived from the original on November 10, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  87. ^ Berwick, Angus; Wilson, Tom (November 10, 2022). "EXCLUSIVE Behind FTX's fall, battling billionaires and a failed bid to save crypto". Reuters. Archived from the original on November 10, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  88. ^ Ge Huange, Vicky; Osipovich, Alexander; Kowsmann, Patricia (November 10, 2022). "FTX Tapped Into Customer Accounts to Fund Risky Bets, Setting Up Its Downfall". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on November 10, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  89. ^ Michaels, Dave; Yu, Elaine; Ostroff, Caitlin (November 12, 2022). "Alameda, FTX Executives Are Said to Have Known FTX Was Using Customer Funds". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on November 12, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  90. ^ Knauth, Dietrich; Pierson, Brendan; Pierson, Brendan (November 15, 2022). "FTX's new CEO helped bolster Enron victims' recovery". Reuters. Archived from the original on November 16, 2022. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  91. ^ "Bahamas police interview FTX's Bankman-Fried amid mystery outflows". The Straits Times. November 13, 2022. Archived from the original on November 14, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  92. ^ Hill, Jeremy (November 17, 2022). "FTX's New Boss Reveals Chaos Left Behind by Bankman-Fried". news.bloombergtax.com. Archived from the original on November 17, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  93. ^ Goswami, Rohan (November 17, 2022). "FTX used corporate funds to purchase employee homes, new filing shows". CNBC. Archived from the original on November 17, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  94. ^ a b Ehrlich, Steven (December 13, 2022). "The 11 Juiciest Parts From Sam Bankman-Fried's Draft Testimony To Congress". Forbes. Archived from the original on October 20, 2023. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  95. ^ Paul, Kari (December 13, 2022). "Sam Bankman-Fried charged with fraud as first congressional hearing closes – as it happened". the Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on November 8, 2023. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  96. ^ a b Yaffe-Bellany, David; Rashbaum, William K.; Goldstein, Matthew (December 12, 2022). "FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried Is Arrested in the Bahamas". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  97. ^ Hoskins, Peter (December 13, 2022). "FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried arrested in Bahamas". BBC News. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  98. ^ Goswami, Rohan; Sigalos, MacKenzie (December 5, 2022). "Sam Bankman-Fried could face years in prison over FTX's $32 billion meltdown — if the U.S. ever gets around to arresting him". CNBC. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  99. ^ Goswami, Rohan; Sigalos, MacKenzie (December 12, 2022). "FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried arrested in the Bahamas after U.S. files criminal charges". CNBC. Archived from the original on December 12, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  100. ^ Hern, Alex (December 22, 2022). "Two associates of Sam Bankman-Fried plead guilty to fraud charges in FTX fall". The Guardian. Archived from the original on December 22, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  101. ^ Ehrlich, Steven (January 26, 2023). "Sam Bankman-Fried Recalls His Hellish Week in a Caribbean Prison". Forbes. Archived from the original on January 27, 2023. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  102. ^ Weiser, Benjamin; Goldstein, Matthew; Yaffe-Bellany, David (December 22, 2022). "Sam Bankman-Fried Released on $250 Million Bond With Restrictions". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 12, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  103. ^ Sherman, Natalie (January 3, 2022). "Sam Bankman-Fried pleads not guilty to fraud". BBC News. Archived from the original on January 3, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  104. ^ Weiser, Benjamin; Yaffe-Bellany, David; Goldstein, Matthew (January 3, 2023). "Sam Bankman-Fried Pleads Not Guilty to Fraud and Other Charges". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 4, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  105. ^ Scannell, Kara (February 1, 2023). "Sam Bankman-Fried's bail is tightened over 'threat' of witness tampering". CNN. Archived from the original on February 2, 2023. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  106. ^ Cohen, Luc (February 16, 2023). "Judge on Bankman-Fried: 'Why am I being asked to turn him loose?'". Reuters. Archived from the original on February 17, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  107. ^ Cohen, Luc; Stempel, Jonathan (February 23, 2023). "Bankman-Fried faces new criminal charges, is accused of hiding political donations". Reuters. Archived from the original on February 23, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  108. ^ Sigalos, MacKenzie; Goswami, Rohan (March 28, 2023). "Sam Bankman-Fried paid over $40 million to bribe at least one Chinese official, DOJ alleges in new indictment". CNBC. Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  109. ^ Yaffe-Bellany, David; Goldstein, Matthew (July 27, 2023). "Prosecutors Drop Campaign Finance Charge Against Sam Bankman-Fried". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 27, 2023. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  110. ^ Skipworth, William (August 14, 2023). "Sam Bankman-Fried Accused Of Using $100 Million In Stolen Funds On Political Donations". Forbes. Archived from the original on August 15, 2023. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  111. ^ Cohen, Luc (August 14, 2023). "Bankman-Fried used $100 mln in stolen FTX funds for political donations, US says". Reuters. Archived from the original on August 15, 2023. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  112. ^ Morrow, Allison (October 3, 2023). "Sam Bankman-Fried's trial has started. Here's what you need to know". CNN. Archived from the original on October 16, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  113. ^ Bekiempis, Victoria; Montgomery, Blake; Paul, Kari (October 27, 2023). "Sam Bankman-Fried asked about co-living at FTX, ex-girlfriend and poker during fraud trial – as it happened". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on November 1, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  114. ^ Oliver, Joshua; Chipolina, Scott (October 18, 2023). "'Crack down on Binance': Sam Bankman-Fried trial illuminates crypto rivalry". Financial Times. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  115. ^ Chow, Andrew R. (October 5, 2023). "The 3 Key Battle Lines in Sam Bankman-Fried's Trial". TIME. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  116. ^ Keenan, Alexis (November 3, 2023). "Sam Bankman-Fried found guilty of defrauding FTX customers, investors, and lenders". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  117. ^ Gura, David (October 21, 2023). "They were Sam Bankman-Fried's friends. Now they could send him to prison for life". NPR. Archived from the original on October 23, 2023. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  118. ^ Ryan, Aldan (October 27, 2023). "Sam Bankman-Fried's Testimony Was Always His Only Case". The Information. Archived from the original on November 3, 2023. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  119. ^ Yang, Yuexi; Benny-Morrison, Ava; Voris, Bob Van (October 6, 2023). "Gary Wang Says His Friend SBF Lied in Tweet: 'FTX Was Not Fine'". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on November 3, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  120. ^ a b Miller, Hannah; Kharif, Olga (October 26, 2023). "Live: SBF Takes the Stand in His Own Defense at Trial Over FTX Failure". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on October 27, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  121. ^ Voris, Bob Van; Yang, Yuexi; Miller, Hannah; Dolmetch, Chris (October 12, 2023). "FTX Latest: FBI Seized Computers Belonging to Mother, Boyfriend". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on October 18, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  122. ^ Keenan, Alexis (October 15, 2023). "Prosecutors' challenge in FTX trial: A scant paper trail left by SBF". Yahoo Finance. Archived from the original on November 1, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  123. ^ Morrow, Allison (October 11, 2023). "Star witness in Sam Bankman-Fried trial offers insider account of alleged criminal enterprise | CNN Business". CNN. Archived from the original on November 2, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  124. ^ Huang, Vicky Ge (October 11, 2023). "Gary Wang: A 'Misleading' Tweet". WSJ. Archived from the original on November 1, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  125. ^ Sigalos, MacKenzie (November 2, 2023). "Sam Bankman-Fried found guilty on all seven criminal fraud counts". CNBC. Archived from the original on November 3, 2023. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  126. ^ Livni, Ephrat; Warner, Bernhard (November 11, 2023). "Sam Bankman-Fried Could Get 100 Years in Prison. What Is Fair?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  127. ^ Clifford, Stephanie (November 8, 2023). "Sam Bankman-Fried's trial has ended, but the fallout has just begun". Fast Company. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  128. ^ Bultman, Matthew (November 2, 2023). "Bankman-Fried's Pre-Trial Antics Haunt Him Before Sentencing (1)". Bloomberg Law. Archived from the original on November 5, 2023. Retrieved February 20, 2024. Former federal prosecutors predict the fallen FTX co-founder will receive at least 20 years in prison. At the high end, federal sentencing guidelines could recommend what equates to a life sentence for Bankman-Fried, who turned 31 in March. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan has been critical of the guidelines and often imposed more lenient sentences in previous cases before his court.
  129. ^ Ramey, James Fanelli and Corinne. "FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Sentenced to 25 Years". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  130. ^ "How Much Time Will Sam Bankman-Fried Serve In Prison?". Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  131. ^ Khalili, Joel (November 2, 2023). "FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Has Been Found Guilty of Fraud". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Archived from the original on November 3, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  132. ^ Cohen, Luc (June 16, 2023). "Bankman-Fried to get second trial on bank fraud, bribery counts". Reuters. Archived from the original on November 3, 2023. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  133. ^ "Sam Bankman-Fried will not face second trial after multibillion-dollar crypto fraud conviction". The Guardian. Reuters. December 29, 2023. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  134. ^ Cohen, Luc (April 11, 2024). "Bankman-Fried appeals FTX fraud conviction, 25-year sentence". Reuters. Retrieved April 11, 2024 – via Yahoo! News.
  135. ^ Cohen, Luc (July 26, 2023). "Sam Bankman-Fried due back in court as judge weighs bail conditions". Reuters. Archived from the original on July 26, 2023. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  136. ^ "Sam Bankman-Fried headed to jail after bail revoked". BBC News. August 11, 2023. Archived from the original on August 11, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  137. ^ Cohen, Luc (August 14, 2023). "FTX's Bankman-Fried needs depression, ADHD meds in jail, lawyers say". Reuters. Archived from the original on August 15, 2023. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  138. ^ Cohen, Luc; Godoy, Jody (August 22, 2023). "FTX's Bankman-Fried 'subsisting on bread and water' in jail, lawyer says". Reuters. Archived from the original on August 22, 2023. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  139. ^ Neumeister, Larry (August 22, 2023). "Jailed Sam Bankman-Fried can't prepare for trial without vegan diet and adequate meds, lawyers say". AP News. Archived from the original on August 22, 2023. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  140. ^ Fanelli, James (November 23, 2023). "Sam Bankman-Fried's Life Behind Bars: Crypto Tips and Paying With Fish". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  141. ^ "Inmate Locator". Federal Bureau of Prisons.
  142. ^ a b Sisario, Ben (September 24, 2024). "Strange Cellmates in a Brooklyn Jail: Sean Combs and Sam Bankman-Fried". The New York Times. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  143. ^ a b c d e Sutton, Sam (February 8, 2022). "Crypto's aspiring Washington kingmaker". Politico. Archived from the original on November 13, 2022. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  144. ^ Schreckinger, Ben (January 16, 2022). "Bitcoin crashes the midterms". Politico. Archived from the original on November 13, 2022. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  145. ^ Lee, Georgina (July 1, 2021). "Crypto firm ropes in Gisele, Tom Brady to burnish green credentials". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on January 14, 2022. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  146. ^ a b c Rushe, Dominic (November 30, 2022). "FTX billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried funneled dark money to Republicans". The Guardian. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  147. ^ Adragna, Anthony (January 27, 2022). "A new Democratic super PAC has entered the chat: Protect Our Future will invest $10 million in Democratic primaries for lawmakers who take 'a long term view on policy planning.'". Politico. Archived from the original on January 27, 2022. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
  148. ^ "White House dodges question on returning political donations from FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried". Fox Business. December 13, 2022. Archived from the original on December 14, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  149. ^ a b Kassel, Matthew (November 11, 2022). "Sam Bankman-Fried's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week". JewishInsider. Archived from the original on November 11, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  150. ^ "Oops. Sam Bankman-Fried's implosion took down Democrats' second-biggest donor with it as the party gears up to regulate crypto". Fortune. Archived from the original on November 10, 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  151. ^ Durot, Matt. "Ahead Of His Crypto Firm's Cash Crunch, Billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried Spent Tens Of Millions On Politics". Forbes. Archived from the original on November 11, 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  152. ^ Sigalos, MacKenzie (October 14, 2022). "FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried backs down from 'dumb quote' about giving $1 billion to political races". CNBC. Archived from the original on November 11, 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  153. ^ "Meet the mega-donors pumping millions into the 2022 midterms". Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 10, 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  154. ^ "2022 Top Donors to Outside Spending Groups". OpenSecrets. Archived from the original on November 23, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  155. ^ "Bankman-Fried, Sam: Donor Detail". OpenSecrets. Archived from the original on November 28, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  156. ^ "The Next 50 PAC PAC Donors". OpenSecrets. Archived from the original on December 27, 2022. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  157. ^ "BFB PAC PAC Donors". OpenSecrets. Archived from the original on December 31, 2022. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  158. ^ Yaffe-Bellany, David (May 14, 2022). "A Crypto Emperor's Vision: No Pants, His Rules". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 14, 2022. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  159. ^ "Analysis | FTX's Sudden Unraveling May Allow DeFi to Grow". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on November 16, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  160. ^ "Sam Bankman-Fried was the face of crypto in D.C. What would FTX's acquisition mean for regulation?". Fortune. Archived from the original on November 12, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  161. ^ Lang, Hannah (November 9, 2022). "Explainer: Crypto industry spends millions on U.S. midterm elections". Reuters. Archived from the original on November 12, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  162. ^ "Crypto billionaire says he could spend a record $1 billion in 2024 election". NBC News. May 24, 2022. Archived from the original on January 7, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  163. ^ "Crypto kingpin bet a fortune on Democrats. Now he's lost it all. POLITICO". Politico. Archived from the original on November 17, 2022. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  164. ^ Quiroz-Gutierrez, Marco (November 15, 2022). "Politicians are regifting Sam Bankman-Fried's donations to distance themselves from the disgraced FTX founder". Fortune. Archived from the original on November 16, 2022. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  165. ^ Sutton, Sam (November 15, 2022). "Lawmakers return FTX money". Politico. Archived from the original on November 16, 2022. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  166. ^ Kaminsky, Gabe (November 29, 2022). "Beto O'Rourke returned $1 million campaign donation from Sam Bankman-Fried, campaign claims". Washington Examiner. Archived from the original on December 3, 2022. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  167. ^ Diamond, Dan (November 16, 2022). "Before FTX collapse, founder poured millions into pandemic prevention". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 27, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  168. ^ "The FTX Foundation supports the global expansion of the Trial of the Year award winning TOGETHER Trial". PR Newswire (Press release). Cision. May 16, 2022. Archived from the original on November 27, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  169. ^ "Fact Check-TOGETHER Trial says involvement with FTX began after testing that found ivermectin ineffective". Reuters. November 22, 2022. Archived from the original on November 28, 2022. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  170. ^ "Insiders Avoidance Complaint" (PDF). courtlistener.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 21, 2023. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  171. ^ Hern, Alex (December 20, 2022). "FTX seeks to claw back donations to politicians and charities". The Guardian. Archived from the original on July 21, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  172. ^ Knauth, Dietrich (April 12, 2023). "Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX has recovered $7.3 billion in assets". Reuters. Archived from the original on October 20, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  173. ^ Goswami, Rohan (January 11, 2023). "FTX has recovered $5 billion worth of 'liquid' assets, lawyers say". CNBC. Archived from the original on October 20, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  174. ^ "FTX Might Have Found Some Money". Bloomberg. October 5, 2023. Archived from the original on October 11, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  175. ^ "FTX Debtors Announce Settlement of Customer Property Disputes". Cision. October 16, 2023. Archived from the original on October 19, 2023. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  176. ^ Quiroz-Gutierrez, Marco (October 17, 2023). "New proposal could see FTX creditors get up to 90% of what's recovered in bankruptcy". Fortune. Archived from the original on October 18, 2023. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  177. ^ "Collapse of crypto exchange FTX endangers founder's philanthropic gifts". Times of Israel. November 15, 2022. Archived from the original on November 15, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  178. ^ Faux, Zeke (April 3, 2022). "A 30-Year-Old Crypto Billionaire Wants to Give His Fortune Away". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on July 9, 2022. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
  179. ^ "Sam Bankman-Fried's $40m Bahamas penthouse reportedly up for sale". The Guardian. November 14, 2022. Archived from the original on November 15, 2022. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  180. ^ Guarino, Mark (December 1, 2022). "FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried on crypto giant's collapse: 'A lot of people got hurt. And that's on me'". ABC News. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  181. ^ Vekiempis, Victoria (October 13, 2023). "Caroline Ellison's testimony against Sam Bankman-Fried: five key takeaways". The Guardian. Archived from the original on October 16, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  182. ^ Bekiempis, Victoria; Robins, Nick (October 3, 2023). "Sam Bankman-Fried arrives in Manhattan court as fraud trial kicks off". The Guardian. Archived from the original on October 17, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  183. ^ Gach, Sam (November 10, 2022). "Crypto's Biggest Crash Saw Guy Playing League Of Legends While Luring Investors [Update]". Kotaku. Archived from the original on November 11, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  184. ^ Ashworth, Louis (November 11, 2022). "Sam Bankman-Fried is not very good at League of Legends". Financial Times. Archived from the original on November 11, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  185. ^ Kolhatkar, Sheelah (September 25, 2023). "Inside Sam Bankman-Fried's Family Bubble". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on October 21, 2023. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  186. ^ Kirsch, Noah; Ladden-Hall, Dan (February 28, 2024). "Sam Bankman-Fried Faces 'Extreme Danger' in Prison, His Family Says". The Daily Beast. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sam Bankman-Fried.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sam_Bankman-Fried&oldid=1257818942"