FTX News: Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX and the former head of the crypto exchange, is now facing additional criminal charges after a judge on Thursday unsealed a new 12-count indictment against him. This comes several months after the crypto mogul was initially indicted on eight counts last year.
SBF In Hot Water Over Political Donations
On February 22, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams filed a superseding indictment with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging that Bankman-Fried’s activities in the case involving FTX and Alameda Research were sufficient grounds for 12 charges. According to the indictment, they included eight accusations connected to conspiring to commit fraud, as well as four charges each for wire fraud and securities fraud.
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The new indictment claims that Bankman-Fried made some political contributions in the names of two other FTX employees because he didn’t wish to be associated with Republicans or be seen as a proponent of left-leaning activists. As per information obtained from the indictment, one executive “ultimately became — at least in name — one of the greatest Democratic donors in the 2022 midterm elections”.
In the 39-page document, Bankman-Fried is also accused of “willfully” and consciously scheming to defraud a bank which has been highlighted in the second paragraph of the file. Even though SBF knew that the account would be used to receive and transmit customer funds in the operation of a cryptocurrency exchange, the former head of FTX is accused of letting a financial institution know that an account would be used for trading and market making.
Future Of FTX & Its Founder
Things look pretty bleak for crypto’s once-shining star as more and more charges are levied on the 30-year-old entrepreneur. Bankman-Fried, who was claimed to be one of the wealthiest individuals and increasingly became the public face of the crypto industry till the latter half of last year — has seen a remarkable fall from grace as a result of recent events.
The court has placed Bankman-Fried under house arrest with a bond set at $250 million and his trial is scheduled to begin in October. As of now, Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to all counts of charges. However, if found guilty, Bankman-Fried could be sentenced to 115 years in prison.
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