FTX Co-Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Faces Additional 40 Years in Prison with New Criminal Charges
FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried has been hit with four new criminal charges in a superseding indictment in New York federal court, according to CNBC. The new charges reportedly carry a potential sentence of an additional 40 years in prison if Bankman-Fried is convicted.
The new charging document provides additional details about Bankman-Fried’s alleged fraudulent conduct related to his cryptocurrency company and an associated hedge fund. The indictment also highlights new information about Bankman-Fried’s alleged violations of federal campaign finance laws.
According to the document, Bankman-Fried allegedly operated an illegal straw donor scheme and used customer funds to run a $40 million political influence campaign. The document alleges that Bankman-Fried conspired to have certain political contributions made in the names of two other FTX executives to avoid certain contributions being publicly reported in his name.
The document also alleges that Bankman-Fried and his co-conspirators agreed to contribute at least a million dollars to a super PAC that was supporting a candidate running for a United States Congressional seat and appeared to be affiliated with pro-LGBTQ issues. The group of conspirators allegedly selected an individual identified only as “CC-1” or co-conspirator 1 to be the donor, but then-FTX director of engineering Nishad Singh contributed $1.1 million to the LGBTQ Victory Fund Federal PAC in 2022, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty in the case. Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams stated in a press release on the new indictment, “We are hard at work and will remain so until justice is done.”
The new charges are a significant development in the case against Bankman-Fried and could potentially lead to a lengthy prison sentence if he is convicted. The indictment highlights the seriousness of the alleged violations of both financial and campaign finance laws, and it remains to be seen how the case will proceed in the coming weeks and months.
Read more:
- FTX Japan Allows Customers To Withdraw Funds Starting February 21
- Hong Kong Crypto Trading Platforms Must Be Licensed By June 2023
- CoinDesk Journalists Earn Coveted George Polk Award For Their Coverage Of Alameda Research And FTX Crypto Exchange