XRP Lawyer Calls Out 'Compromised' DOJ in SBF Prosecution

XRP holder’s lawyer, John Deaton has called out the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) for acting in a compromised manner in the ongoing prosecution of Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the co-founder and former CEO of FTX Derivatives Exchange.

John Deaton’s Exception with the DOJ

As one of the most vocal critics of government overreach in the digital currency ecosystem, John Deaton believes the DOJ is doing selective enforcement to protect some entities connected to the grand fraud perpetrated by SBF while still at the helm of affairs at FTX.

Responding directly to an X platform user who noted that SBF’s parents need to be arrested as well, Deaton noted that if Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried were not politically connected, they would have been arrested by now.

The DOJ is 💯 compromised and, like the SEC, as well as almost every other federal agency, needs to be cleaned out and reshaped. Make no mistake about it, if SBFraud’s parents weren’t connected to @ewarren and weren’t huge donors to the Democratic Party (SBF’s mom runs a PAC),… https://t.co/VsKqcxRgXG

— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) September 16, 2023

At the onset of the arrest of SBF, what the crypto industry was exposed to was that Joseph and Barbara used their California homes as part of the bail materials to free the crypto innovator earlier this year. With additional investigations, it was revealed that SBF actually bought millions worth of properties in his parent’s names.

Some reports also have it that Joseph has a very powerful influence in the affairs of FTX even more than some employees, a situation that fueled some friction with some employees at the time. From the general assumption, crypto industry holders are speculating that Joseph might play a role in the misuse of FTX customer funds as SBF is currently facing trials.

Dissenting Call for Justice

In what has become a dire situation for the creditors of FTX, the demand for Justice is now conflicting with the clamor to get a refund for deposits lodged with the trading platform which is still under lock to date.

While the FTX Exchange has reopened its claims portal after a concerning data breach associated with Kroll, the expectations for a refund are obviously stronger when compared to the need to bring SBF or his parents to book.

With trials set for the next few weeks, the ecosystem is anxiously anticipating how the events will turn as eyes remain on current FTX management with plans to relaunch the trading platform.