Friday, 24 February 2023
by Berkeley Lovelace
Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the disgraced co-founder of FTX, faces four more charges after a new indictment was unsealed on Wednesday. The charges include operating an unlicensed money transfer business and conspiring to commit bank fraud.
The former CEO of FTX was originally indicted 72 days ago by a federal grand jury in Manhattan, and prosecutors charged the crypto exchange co-founder with eight different offenses. The charges include conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
A new indictment was unsealed by the court on February 22, 2023, adding four new charges to SBF’s case. The charges include operating an unlicensed money transmitter and conspiracy to commit bank fraud. “Exploiting the trust that FTX customers placed in him and his exchange, Bankman-Fried stole FTX customer deposits and used billions of dollars in stolen funds for a variety of purposes,” the new indictment reads.
The newly revised indictment did not name any other defendants, and it alleges that SBF “corrupted the operations of the cryptocurrency companies he founded and controlled—including FTX.com and Alameda Research.” The revised indictment further adds that SBF “perpetrated this multibillion-dollar fraud through a series of systems and schemes that allowed him, through Alameda, to access and steal FTX customer deposits without detection.”
In addition to operating an unlicensed money transfer business and bank fraud, SBF is accused of defrauding customers in connection with the purchase and sale of derivatives. Furthermore, SBF faces a charge of making unlawful political contributions and defrauding the Federal Election Commission.
What impact do you think these new charges will have on SBF’s case? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.