By
Mayowa Adebajo
April 11th, 2024
Fresh indictment charges against FTX founder could put an additional 40 years of prison over multiple charges of fraud. It also highlights major details of SBF’s contributions to political parties.
In a super seeding indictment filed in the New York Federal court on Thursday, February 23, FTX’s disgraced founder Sam Bankman-Fried faced four new criminal charges linked to commodities fraud and unlawful political contributions.
With these new cases, Sam Bankman-Fried has been accused of “multiple schemes to defraud”. A source familiar with the matter said that SBF could probably face an additional 40 years in prison if convicted in the case.
The new court documents SBF’s fraudulent conduct with his crypto exchange FTX. It also highlights his misdeeds in an associated hedge fund, Alameda Research. Both companies tanked last year in November 2022. The 12-count indictment also provides details of several hundred political donations that SBF made which allegedly violated federal campaign finance laws.
FTX’s disgraced founder is currently on bail facing charges of stealing customer deposits and using billions of dollars of the stolen funds to support FTX’s and Alameda’s operations. He also faces charges of using customers’ funds for making speculative investments and charitable contributions. The latest indictment was unsealed in US District Court in Manhattan notes that SBF tried “to purchase influence over cryptocurrency regulation in Washington, D.C., by steering tens of millions of dollars in illegal campaign contributions to both Democrats and Republicans”.
Before the criminal case, SBF was popular for his huge donations to the Democrats.
Bankman-Fried Faces More Legal Pressure and New Charges
The new indictment is certainly likely to put more legal pressure on Sam Bankman-Fried and his aides Gary Wang and ex-Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison. Both have pleaded guilty to multiple frauds and other charges are cooperating with the US attorney’s office in Manhattan against SBF.
The new indictment accuses SBF of wire fraud, securities fraud, money laundering, illegal campaigns contribution, bank fraud, etc. Commenting on this new indictment, Manhattan US Attorney Damian Williams said:
“We are hard at work and will remain so until justice is done”.
The indictment document notes that Sam Bankman-Fried and his fellow executives together contributed over $70 million to the mid-term 2022 elections. The new filings claim that SBF and his co-conspirators “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 indictment notes that SBF’s campaign finance scheme involves efforts of keeping his contributions to Republicans “dark”.