Unusual Whales

Sam Bankman-Fried Pleads Not Guilty to Charges Regarding FTX | Here are All the Charges

Unusual Whales -

Per Reuters

Sam Bankman-Fried pleads non-guilty to charges filed against him from multiple departments regarding FTX. His trial could spread up to four weeks, and its date is set on Oct 2, set by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan.

The FTX founder was initially arrested on Dec 13 by authorities in the Bahamas. Although he has been transferred to the United States, he faces charges left and right from different government bodies, per Quartz. Here are the different government bodies and their charges to FBS:

Securities Exchange Commission - 2 counts of fraud

  • Violating Securities Exchange Act 1933
  • Violating Securities Exchange Act 1934

Commodity Futures Trading Commission - 2 counts of fraud

  • One count of fraud
  • One count of "fraudulent misstatements" to customers

United States Justice Department

  • Conspiracy to commit wire fraud on customers
  • Wire fraud on customers
  • Conspiracy to commit wire fraud on lenders
  • Wire fraud on lenders
  • Conspiracy to commit commodities fraud
  • Conspiracy to commit securities fraud
  • Conspiracy to commit money laundering
  • Conspiracy to defraud the United States and violate the campaign finance law

SBF entered a plea deal in a federal court in Manhattan after accusations of using FTX customer funds for his hedge fund, Alameda Research, and others. He was also accused of using customer funds for political donations and purchasing real estate.

Federal prosecutor Danielle Sassoon suggested that there was a lot of evidence against SBF and that hundreds of documents would be turned over to help build their defense. Sassoon was also the one who noted that the trial could last four weeks.

Sassoon: "Customer funds were also used and laundered through political donations, charitable donations and a variety of venture investments,"

Two of SBF's former associates, Caroline Ellison, former Alameda chief executive, and Gary Wang, FTX chief technology officer, have already entered plea deals and are cooperating with prosecutors. The two are also expected to testify at the trial of FTX's founder.

If convicted, SBF could face up to 115 years in prison. Although the FTX founder said he made mistakes at the crypto exchange, he believes he isn't criminally liable.

Resources:

Reuters

Quartz

See flow at unusualwhales.com/flow.