A Democratic Party megadonor is potentially facing a lengthy prison sentence.
The Royal Bahamas Police Force arrested Sam Bankman-Fried (known by his initials SBF) last night after U.S. prosecutors filed criminal charges against the former billionaire.
The founder and principal of cryptocurrency exchange FTX amassed a net worth of $26 billion by October 2022. That figure dropped 94% overnight after FTX collapsed due to financial mismanagement and a massive liquidity crisis.
The New York Times reports:
The arrest was the latest stunning development in one of the most dramatic falls from grace in recent corporate history. Mr. Bankman-Fried, 30, was scheduled to testify in Congress on Tuesday about the collapse of FTX, which was one of the most powerful firms in the emerging crypto industry until it imploded virtually overnight last month after a run on deposits exposed an $8 billion hole in its accounts.
Prosecutors for the Southern District of New York confirmed that Mr. Bankman-Fried had been charged and said an indictment would be unsealed on Tuesday. Separately, the Securities and Exchange Commission said in a statement that it had authorized charges “relating to Mr. Bankman-Fried's violations of our securities laws.”
The criminal charges against Mr. Bankman-Fried included wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy and money laundering, said a person with knowledge of the matter.
Mr. Bankman-Fried, who was the only person charged in the indictment, was taken into custody by the Bahamian authorities, the person said. He was arrested shortly after 6 p.m. at his apartment complex in the Albany resort in the Bahamas, according to a statement from the Bahamian police. The timing of when Mr. Bankman-Fried might be moved to the United States was unclear. While the Bahamas has an extradition treaty with the United States, the process can take weeks, and sometimes far longer if a criminal defendant contests it.
Bankman-Fried is scheduled to appear at a magistrate court in Nassau today.
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This is what happens when people are suckered into buying into this phony money business. This make believe get rich quick stuff should be a wake up call to everyone.
Gus – yep the old Latin phrase “Caveat Emptor” still holds true. Along with PT Barnum’s warning about suckers………………
This is why I never trusted crypto-money. It is logically a phantasm on cyberspace that can *POOF* disappear.
Dems down to 1 donor: Soros
Not a tear when justice is served.