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SBF Could Face 40 More Years After Prosecutors File 4 New Charges

Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried could face an additional 40 years in a US prison after prosecutors hit him with four more charges in documents unsealed on Thursday.

The additonal charges include conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transfer business and demands for the forfeiture of assets which include assets held in Binance accounts, $170 million in cash held at Silvergate Bank and more than 55 million shares held in a commission free investing app Robinhood Markets.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, said in new statements since the new indictments, “We are hard at work and will remain so until justice is done.”

The indictments also claim that Bankman-Fried, and his co-conspirators–Gary Wang and Caroline Ellison– “made over 300 political contributions, totaling tens of millions of dollars, that were unlawful because they were made in the name of a straw donor or paid for with corporate funds.”

“To avoid certain contributions being publicly reported in his name, Bankman-Fried conspired to and did have certain political contributions made in the names of two other FTX executives,” the new filing claims.

Other claims in documents stated that Bankman-Fried created a bogus company called North Dimension, “which had no employees or business operations,” to open a bank account for trading purposes after rejections from another bank. He also created a website for the fake company using monies from his credit card, prosecutors say.

Since being extradicted to the US from the Bahamas where FTX was headquartered, Bankman-Fried remains under house arrest at his parents’ home in California. He has pleaded not guilty to the eight previous charges against him.

Photo credit: Reuters

Sam Bankman-Fried Faces Security Threat After 3 Men Try to Cause Harm

Embattled crypto-knight Sam Bankman-Fried is reportedly facing a security risk after three men drove into a metal barricade outside of his home in California, his lawyers filed in a Manhattan federal court.

“You won’t be able to keep us out,” the unidentified men said to a security guard as they got back in the vehicle and drove away.

Where Sam Bankman-Fried will be under house arrest after $250M bail

Christian Everdell from New York law firm Cohen & Gresser said the 30-year-old disgraced one-time billionaire and his parents are targets of “actual efforts to cause harm to them,” requesting that US District Judge Lewis Kaplan reject the notion to unseal documents revealing the guarantors of Bankman-Fried’s $250,000,000 bail.

The men have not been identified neither did his lawyers reveal when the incident occurred but only said “recent.”

The scare comes after customers of the fallen crypto exchange and bankrupt FTX, demand billions of dollars allegedly defrauded by Bankman-Fried. At last court hearing, it was revealed a million customers were affected and many lost their life savings.

Bankman-Fried lives in the home with his parents Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried since December when he was extradited from the Bahamas to New York, where he was released on bail when his parents put up their 1.8 million dollar home as equity.

The 30-year-old was accused of his involvement in some shady dealings of funneling billions of dollars to his sister company Alameda Research.

He pleaded not guilty and returns to court in October to face trial.

 

‘The Largest-Ever Pretrial Bond’: Why Sam Bankman-Fried’s $250 Million Bail Is Unprecedented

Though FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried was unable to get bail in the Bahamas, he secured a hefty $250 million bail in New York, which was described as “the largest-ever pretrial bond.”

When he went to court last week in the Bahamas, a judge feared he could flee the country and denied him bail as he was ordered to jail at the Bahamas Department of Corrections. But when he was extradited to New York, a US judge easily granted him bail, which was surprising considering the billions of dollars lost on his platform and the alleged funneling of money from FTX to his sister company.

The former billionaire previously stated in a media interview that he only had $100,000 left in his bank account after filing bankruptcy on his $32 billion crypto exchange, FTX. So when he was released on a $250 million bond, many were surprised.

What are the terms of Sam Bankman-Fried’s bail?

  • Judge Gabriel Gorenstein said Bankman-Fried would be released to his parents’ home in California with “strict” supervision.
  • He was released on a ‘recognizance bail’ which means he signed a commitment to return to court on Jan 3, when he will enter his plea of ‘guilty’ or ‘not guilty’ and be arraigned.
  • The ‘personal recognizance bond’ is based on Bankman-Fried’s promise with his parents’ promise to pay $250 million if he fails to show up for court.
  • His parent’s home, reportedly worth $4 million, was put up as equity, with their signatures along with two other people with “considerable” assets.
  • Bankman-Fried wears an electronic monitoring bracelet.
  • He must submit to mental health counseling.
  • The 30-year-old can only travel within and between the Northern District of California and the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.
  • He can not open any new lines of credit of more than $1,000 while awaiting trial.

Unprecedented

Bankman-Fried did not have to pay any cash, but a simple commitment made him a free man. Typically, defendants on bond are charged 10-15 percent of the bail in cash or must commit to collateral in the full amount of the bond and if he or she fails to show up to court, the pledged collateral is forfeited.

 

Photo credit: Epoch Times

Bahamas vs USA: FTX Gears up for a Fight as Bahamas Govt Takes Control of Its Assets

While customers are looking for billions of dollars lost in FTX’s collapse, FTX Bahamas where the exchange was headquartered, and FTX US are preparing to battle after bankruptcy documents were filed.

The Securities Commission Bahamas released a press statement on Thursday signaling a fight with FTX-US. “It is not the understanding of the Commission that FDM (FTX Digital Market) is a party to the US Chapter 11 Bankruptcy proceedings,” the statement said.

FTX US filed for bankruptcy in Delaware while FTX Bahamas filed in a New York court. Now Bahamian liquidators are demanding the US court give them control of the proceedings since the exchange is headquartered in the Bahamas.

But FTX-US believes all bankruptcy proceedings should be in Delaware to “end the chaos” so that all proceedings could “take place in a single venue.”

Late Thursday night, the Securities Commission of the Bahamas added in a statement that it ordered the transaction of FTX’s crypto wallets to government-controlled wallets last week Saturday.

It is not known why it is just making the public aware of its authorization but only stated that existing authorities allowed the commission to take action if it needs to protect clients or their funds.

Last week, nearly 600 million dollars were purportedly “hacked” from FTX. It is alleged the Bahamas government, sanctioned by Bankman-Fried removed the money as new CEO John Ray accused the Bahamas government of ordering unauthorized access to FTX’s systems in order to withdraw assets after the Chapter 11 bankruptcy was filed in the U.S.

But the Securities Commission is stating today that an order signed by Justice Loren Klein on November 12, gave them permission to transfer assets worth millions of dollars into the government digital wallet because it feared they would be stolen by hackers.