Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried remained by Mr. Bankman-Fried’s side—as legal advisers, one person familiar with the matter said, but mainly as parents to a son who is in deep trouble.
Before FTX’s collapse, Mr. Bankman was a paid employee of the company for almost a year. He joined his son in meetings with Washington policy makers, expanded its philanthropic endeavors and helped connect his son to at least one major investor. And when Mr. Bankman and Ms. Fried visited their son in the Bahamas, where FTX is based, the company provided a place for them to stay.
They have been in the Bahamas with their son for more than a month, as the company’s problems have cascaded. They have told friends that their son’s legal bills will likely wipe them out financially.
“We hope this gives us some wisdom,” Mr. Bankman said recently, according to people close to him. “Otherwise, it would be too hard to take.”
Mr. Bankman later served as a paid employee of FTX for 11 months, primarily focused on its charity efforts, the spokeswoman said. Ms. Fried wasn’t involved in the company, the spokeswoman said.
Last year, Mr. Bankman spoke to Orlando Bravo, the private-equity titan. Mr. Bravo had been Mr. Bankman’s law student and the two remained friends. Mr. Bravo was interested in investing in FTX and Mr. Bankman helped connect him to his son, people familiar with the matter said. The discussions were reported previously by the Financial Times.
Mr. Bravo’s firm, Thoma Bravo LP, would later invest $130 million in the upstart exchange.
Mr. Bankman has pushed for a system where the government would perform the role of tax preparer for American workers. Tax preparers lobbied against it. He poured $35,000 of his own money into counter-lobbying in California.
December 13, 2022, 06:10 AM
nhracecraft
quote:
Mr. Bankman later served as a paid employee of FTX for 11 months, primarily focused on its charity efforts, the spokeswoman said. Ms. Fried wasn’t involved in the company, the spokeswoman said.
Maybe a twofer if 'Mr Bankman' was involved with the fleecing of FTX and it's investors...
If Some is Good, and More is Better.....then Too Much, is Just Enough !! Trump 47....Make America Great Again! "May Almighty God bless the United States of America" - parabellum 7/26/20 Live Free or Die!
They have told friends that their son’s legal bills will likely wipe them out financially.
“We hope this gives us some wisdom,” Mr. Bankman said recently, according to people close to him. “Otherwise, it would be too hard to take.”
Here’s my fervent Dantesque hope they lost so much they are forced to live in a fetid homeless encampment in downtown San Francisco, where they contract some terrible conditions and diseases, starting with body and head lice (for obvious reasons).
And why are they incurring Stupid Big Fraudster’s legal bills? Aren’t mommy and daddy hot shot lawyers who (until recently ) taught at Stanford University School of Law? Why aren’t they representing him? There is no parental privilege, so what they discuss is confidential if they are boy moron’s lawyers. Beyond that is it a sign they are deeply involved in criminality, as suggested by their nice new vacation home in the Bahamas.
I guess we should be happy the whole lot didn't dash for a non-extradition country.
Nice is overrated
"It's every freedom-loving individual's duty to lie to the government." Airsoftguy, June 29, 2018
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced they have brought charges against Samuel Bankman-Fried for allegedly violating the Securities Act and the Securities Exchange Act.
The complaint, filed Tuesday, accuses Bankman-Fried of carrying out "a scheme to defraud equity investors in FTX Trading Ltd," his cryptocurrency trading platform. The court filing describes the alleged operation as "a massive, years-long fraud, diverting billions of dollars of the trading platform’s customer funds for his own personal benefit and to help grow his crypto empire."
The SEC complaint details allegations that Bankman-Fried took funds from customers and diverted them to Alameda Research LLC, his crypto hedge fund, and used the money for personal purposes including buying real estate and making political contributions.
"Throughout this period, Bankman-Fried portrayed himself as a responsible leader of the crypto community," the complaint says. "He touted the importance of regulation and accountability. He told the public, including investors, that FTX was both innovative and responsible. Customers around the world believed his lies, and sent billions of dollars to FTX, believing their assets were secure on the FTX trading platform."
The SEC alleges that Bankman-Fried diverted money from FTX to Alameda by having customers deposit funds into accounts controlled by Alameda and by giving Alameda "a virtually limitless ‘line of credit’ at FTX, which was funded by FTX customer assets."
After putting billions in customer funds in Alameda, the SEC claims Bankman-Fried used Alameda "as his personal piggy bank to buy luxury condominiums, support political campaigns, and make private investments, among other uses."
The complaint describes how the operation ultimately crumbled after cryptocurrency prices dropped sharply earlier this year, and lenders who provided billions to Alameda wanted their money back. Lacking funds, Alameda took billions of dollars of FTX customer funds, the complaint says, and "Bankman-Fried—concerned that this enormous liability would alarm Alameda’s lenders—directed Alameda to hide this ‘line of credit’ in Alameda’s balance sheet."
All the while, the complaint says, Bankman-Fried made public statements that FTX and Alameda were separate entities.
December 13, 2022, 10:35 AM
corsair
Good summary...for now
December 13, 2022, 11:08 AM
ibanda
I am wondering/hoping? the political donations backfire on him. He donated Millions and spread it around to so many politicians, I hope they have to back off defending him in order not to be seen as dirty themselves. Maybe that's a pipe dream. There have to be enough NY firms and individuals that lost money and are apply pressure to see him go down.
I am wondering about the books of the US arm of FTX. SBF says FTX US is solvent, but I don't really believe anything he says at this point. I can see though that he might have one set of in house book keeping rules for the US and another set for the Bahamas.
I have a few SIGs.
December 13, 2022, 12:54 PM
PASig
December 13, 2022, 01:01 PM
sse
Looks like the timing of the indictment did the defendant a favor.
December 13, 2022, 01:17 PM
av8erman
...too early for Sam Bankman-Fried did not kill himself?
December 13, 2022, 01:53 PM
Balzé Halzé
quote:
Originally posted by sse: Looks like the timing of the indictment did the defendant a favor.
No. It did the democrats a favor.
~Alan Acta Non Verba NRA Life Member (Patron) God, Family, Guns, Country
Men will fight and die to protect women... because women protect everything else. ~Andrew Klavan
December 13, 2022, 01:55 PM
smschulz
I am surprised they even indicted him except to shut him up.
December 13, 2022, 02:33 PM
architect
quote:
Originally posted by Sig2340: [QUOTE]Here’s my fervent Dantesque hope they lost so much they are forced to live in a fetid homeless encampment in downtown San Francisco, where they contract some terrible conditions and diseases, starting with body and head lice (for obvious reasons).
I would hope that your average head and crab lice would have a little more integrity and good taste than to infest such scum!
If Alameda was indeed a hedge fund, wouldn't a decline in crypto prices be good for their bottom line? So they couldn't even do that right!
And, where's the money? Assuming SBF "loaned" himself $1.5 billion (is it a loan if you don't intend to pay it back?), could he possibly have spent it all on non-recoverable assets? That kind of money buys a lot of cocaine, and even more Cristal. I suspect there are few who could actually go through that weight in a few short years. Somewhere there is a fat ass bank account that is intended to fund a luxurious retirement. The "legal fees will bankrupt us" is yet another bald-faced lie.
December 13, 2022, 02:56 PM
apprentice
This may have been posted earlier, but if not, here's a few famous names that might be on the hook promoting this scam: