“Digital Currency”

Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried asks court to let him access his Robinhood shares worth $465M to pay for his criminal defense

Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has asked a federal judge to allow him access to some $465 million worth of shares in Robinhood, saying he needs cash to pay his legal fees.

Attorneys for Bankman-Fried made the request in a motion filed on Thursday night with the judge overseeing FTX’s bankruptcy, arguing that the 56.3 million shares of Robinhood are owned by an entity that is not party to the proceedings.

Bankman-Fried, whose net worth was once estimated at $15.6 billion, has said that he has about $100,000 in cash reserves remaining after his cryptocurrency exchange collapsed and he was charged with fraud.

FTX and Alameda Research founder Sam Bankman-Fried was arraigned Tuesday in a Manhattan courtroom. Now attention turns to the legal process leading to an epic trial scheduled to start in October.

Understandably, the press focused on the big headline – that SBF had been accused of committing one of the largest financial frauds in U.S. history. But is there a time bomb ticking away in the indictment?

Far less attention was paid to the last count in the indictment: The allegation that SBF conspired with others to violate campaign finance laws. It was well-documented that SBF had been a major contributor to mostly Democratic candidates (while his colleague, Ryan Salame, was a major Republican donor).

h/t DM

US authorities are ratcheting up pressure on Sam Bankman-Fried’s inner circle as they scrutinize former close FTX associate Nishad Singh, according to people familiar with the matter.

If federal prosecutors in Manhattan find Singh had a role in the alleged multiyear scheme at FTX and trading firm Alameda Research to defraud investors and clients, he could be charged as soon as this month, said one of the people. The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are also probing Singh, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing the matter.

Not lookin good, on paper at least.

Daniel Friedberg — the former FTX “chief regulatory officer” who was tied to a notorious online poker cheating scandal — has reportedly flipped on Sam Bankman-Fried and has been cooperating with the feds in the epic crypto fraud case.

Friedberg, a member of Bankman-Fried’s inner circle and key legal adviser at FTX, met with investigators on Nov. 22 and detailed how the disgraced founder used customer funds “to finance his business empire,” Reuters reported on Thursday, citing a source with knowledge of the matter.

An 8 billion dollar fraud demands jail time, but Sam’s parents have the Democrat card to play. I expect a fairly quick pardon will be arranged once the dust has settled.

Accused cryptocurrency fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried entered a not-guilty plea at his arraignment in Manhattan federal court Tuesday.

Judge Lewis Kaplan set a tentative trial date of Oct. 2, 2023, for the 30-year-old fallen wunderkind.

It was Bankman-Fried’s second appearance in Manhattan federal court since his extradition from the Bahamas.

He’s got about 10 months to ponder his non-existent defense.

Federal Sentencing Guidelines Spell Deep Trouble for Sam Bankman-Fried

Sam Bankman-Fried is expected to be arraigned in a federal district court in lower Manhattan today, on the indictment obtained by prosecutors in the Southern District of New York in December.

SBF is in deep, deep trouble. The main reason for that, besides what appears to be weighty evidence against him — including the prospective testimony of two close (alleged) accomplices who are cooperating with SDNY prosecutors — is found in the federal sentencing guidelines.

To his credit, Securities and Exchange Commission chief Gary Gensler is arguing that the Sam Bankman-Fried crypto scandal doesn’t mean we need more regulations to rein in digital-coin excess and fraud. Laws are on the books that give the current regulatory and legal system plenty of tools to prosecute bad actors. Plus theft has been illegal since the beginning of civilization.

But if our regulators are properly armed, how did the furry-haired alleged fraudster get away with something that could rival the wrongdoing of the notorious Bernie Madoff and his $65 billion Ponzi swindle?

Squint and you might think that not much has changed for Sam Bankman-Fried. The 30-year-old crypto tycoon spends his days hanging out at his parents’ $4 million home near Stanford University, in a neighbourhood populated by fellow academics employed by the renowned institution. He can relax by the pool and is visited by the occasional crypto influencer, or Michael Lewis, the Moneyball author who has been shadowing the boy-genius for months.

Look closer, though, and you will see that the street is barricaded, with security checking IDs to ensure the press can’t get through. Bankman-Fried is fitted with an ankle monitor — a condition of his house arrest — and on Tuesday, he will appear in a Manhattan court to face eight criminal charges related to what the government has dubbed an “epic fraud”. The stakes are very high: he could be sent to prison for at least 30 years, and his family might be left financially ruined.

The Bahamas securities regulator has said it has seized assets worth $3.5bn (£2.9bn) from the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX and plans to return them to creditors and former customers.

The Securities Commission of the Bahamas said it had transferred all digital assets under the custody or control of FTX Digital Markets, a Bahamas subsidiary of the FTX operation, to its own digital wallets for “safekeeping”.

Can’t blame anyone who says the fix is in!

Sam Bankman-Fried had four White House meetings THIS YEAR: Bombshell report reveals disgraced crypto mogul met with top Biden aides as recently as September

Disgraced cryptocurrency mogul Sam Bankman-Fried met with four Biden officials this year before the collapse of his FTX empire and his arrest in the Bahamas.

The Democratic donor, 30, awaiting trial for what prosecutors say is one of the biggest financial frauds in U.S. history held talks with senior White House advisor Steve Ricchetti on September 8, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.

He has had at least two other meetings with Ricchetti on April 22 and May 12 and another with top aide Bruce Reed.

And … Did Sam Bankman-Fried Secretly Cash Out $1.5M?

Indicted FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried used customer cash from sister firm Alameda Research to invest $200 million in two separate companies, according to a report.

One of Bankman-Fried’s investments went toward the banking app Dave, which disclosed a $100 million windfall last March that purportedly came from FTX Ventures, CNBC reported on Wednesday.

The other $100 million investment backed Mysten Labs, a Web3 firm focused on digital infrastructure, according to the business network.

It looks worse every day, now he has been caught lying about the source of funds for these two “investments.” He is scheduled to make a plea Jan 3. I have no idea which way he will go, but he seems “entitled” enough to claim innocence.

NEW YORK, Dec 28 (Reuters) – Sam Bankman-Fried is expected to enter a plea next week to criminal charges he defrauded investors and looted billions of dollars in customer funds at his failed FTX cryptocurrency exchange.

The 30-year-old is expected to be arraigned on the afternoon of Jan. 3, 2023, before U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan federal court, court records on Wednesday showed.

Sam Bankman-Fried hires top private investigator who worked for Ghislaine Maxwell

Disgraced crypto boss Sam Bankman-Fried has hired a top private investigator who friends have dubbed a ‘real hound dog’ because he is so relentless.

Bankman-Fried was seen being escorted out of court in New York after being freed on $250million bail by Jimmy Harkins, DailyMail.com can reveal.

Harkins is a highly-decorated former NYPD detective who has previously worked for Calvin Klein, John Gotti Jr and played a cop in the Martin Scorcese film The Irishman

Hiring a PI does not suggest he’s entering a guilty plea.

But then there’s this, some are asking why Sammy wasn’t banned from internet access as part of his bail conditions…

Alameda Wallets Suddenly Become Active Day After SBF’s Bail-‘Out’

The crypto wallets associated with now-bankrupt trading firm Alameda Research, the sister company of FTX, were seen transferring out funds just days after the former CEO Sam Bankman Fried was released on a $250 million bond.

Beyond the seemingly ready-made crypto-strangling legislation that Senator Liz Warren (D-MA) and other Constitution-flouters pushed within days of the Nov. 11 FTX bankruptcy announcement, one of the most curious and disturbing facets of the Ukraine-tied, media-adored, and now-collapsed crypto-currency exchange has just come to light.

On December 22, Politico’s Ryan Lizza, Rachael Bade, and Eugene Daniels reported that a close ally and adviser to FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (“SBF”) was part of a direct backchannel communications portal with leftist activists and…the White House.

And, curiously, the members of that FTX-White-House-Leftist-Activist portal appear to have shut it down the day after FTX filed for bankruptcy.

Makes sense given Mommy’s links to the DNC.

Federal prosecutors are investigating an alleged cybercrime that drained more than $370 million out of FTX just hours after the cryptocurrency exchange filed for bankruptcy last month.

The Department of Justice has launched a criminal probe into the stolen assets that is separate from the fraud case against FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried, according to a person familiar with the case. US authorities have managed to freeze some of the stolen funds, the person confirmed. However the frozen assets only represent a fraction of the entire loot.

Are Mom & Dad really paying the tab?

Sam Bankman-Fried’s family pays $10K a week for armed security, sources say

PALO ALTO, Calif. — Amid death threats and sudden global infamy, accused FTX fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried and his parents have turned their posh Stanford home into a heavily guarded fortress.

The family is shelling out roughly $10,000 a week to have a private Bay Area security firm patrol the leafy, 3,000-square-foot residence with several armed guards working around the clock, sources told The Post.