NY - Samuel Bankman-Fried (FTX), Alleged Fraud, Money Laundering, 2019-2022 *Arrest*

[Countem]

With the trial starting today, I found this gem of an article amongst all the trial alert articles.

“FTX told architects that its headquarters should look like Sam Bankman-Fried's hair”

FTX told architects that its headquarters should look like Sam Bankman-Fried's hair

Michael Lewis' biography of Sam Bankman-Fried recalls the architects' struggles designing FTX's "mini city." SBF said he never looked at the plans.

www.businessinsider.com

 

[JerseyGirl]

Sam Bankman-Fried's fraud trial gets under way with jury selection

Federal prosecutors say the 31-year-old former billionaire embezzled from FTX customers since its founding in 2019 through its November 2022 bankruptcy.

www.reuters.com

 

[Gemmie]

With the trial starting today, I found this gem of an article amongst all the trial alert articles.

“FTX told architects that its headquarters should look like Sam Bankman-Fried's hair”

FTX told architects that its headquarters should look like Sam Bankman-Fried's hair

Michael Lewis' biography of Sam Bankman-Fried recalls the architects' struggles designing FTX's "mini city." SBF said he never looked at the plans.

www.businessinsider.com

I have one thought from reading this from the article you posted:

The FTX founder apparently wanted the building to be shaped like an F, have a plinth to showcase a tungsten cube that he bought for $250,000, and for the side of the building to "evoke his unruly hair," Lewis wrote.

Then the architects found out the list wasn't even from Bankman-Fried, but somebody else at FTX who tried to imagine what he might want, and Bankman-Fried knew nothing about it, per the biography.

Gemmie again - OK, so it sounds like it wasn't actually SBF that came up with those 3 ideas, but someone "who tried to imagine what he might want"... but what does THAT tell you?? It tells me that SBF came across as extremely egotistical. Hence making those guesses on what SBF might like.

And I'd think it would have been a joke, you know, something to laugh about once the architects left, scratching their head over the request... but this is SBF they were talking about! I don't think it was a joke! LOLOL

 

[Countem]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/10/04/bankman-fried-ftx-trial/

[Today,] U.S. District Judge LK, federal prosecutors and Bankman-Fried’s defense lawyers are expected to whittle down a pool of 50 people to a dozen jurors, with six alternates. After the jury is seated, U.S. attorneys for the Southern District of New York will spend about a half-hour making their opening statements, followed by Bankman-Fried’s lawyers, who said they expect to speak for 35 to 40 minutes.

 

[arielilane]

Informative detailed article, imo.


Not long ago, Sam Bankman-Fried was described as "crypto's golden boy." But today, the 31-year-old founder of FTX is the poster child of everything that has gone wrong with cryptocurrencies — and he's facing the prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison.

On Tuesday, Bankman-Fried's high-profile trial will get underway. Federal prosecutors have accused him ofdefrauding customers and investors, and charged him with money laundering. If he is convicted on all seven criminal counts, the former crypto executive could be sentenced to more than 100 years in prison. [...]



[...] Here's a look at Sam Bankman-Fried's trial, which starts with jury selection on Tuesday.

More at link...

https://www.npr.org/2023/10/03/1202965753/ftx-sam-bankman-fried-sbf-trial-crypto

October 3, 20235:00 AM ET

 

[JerseyGirl]

Sam Bankman-Fried trial gets off to a slow start over 'crypto affected' jurors - CityAM

The trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, has had a slow start with the judge struggling to appoint jurors who haven’t had a bad crypto experience.

www.cityam.com

 

[JerseyGirl]

Jury sees FTX ads with Tom Brady, Larry David, as fraud case is rolled out against Sam Bankman-Fried

Splashy advertising featuring football star Tom Brady and comedian Larry David was shown to jurors as prosecutors launched a historic fraud case against cryptocurrency maven Sam Bankman-Fried.

apnews.com

 

[Gemmie]

Jury sees FTX ads with Tom Brady, Larry David, as fraud case is rolled out against Sam Bankman-Fried

Splashy advertising featuring football star Tom Brady and comedian Larry David was shown to jurors as prosecutors launched a historic fraud case against cryptocurrency maven Sam Bankman-Fried.

apnews.com

I remember when I first saw the superbowl ad "Stupid people vote??" I LOVED it!!! Still do. Except I had NO idea until the other day that SBF's father was in it.

I wonder what the jurors will make of that information, and what they are being told by the prosecutors about why they are showing it to them?

 

[arielilane]

Sam Bankman-Fried built empire on ‘lies’, prosecutor says in fraud trial

Second day of trial featured prosecutors’ first witness as defense presented Bankman-Fried as ‘math nerd’ with good intentions who got in over his head

www.theguardian.com

Wed 4 Oct 2023 17.15 EDT

Opening arguments began in Sam Bankman-Fried’s fraud trial on Wednesday, with prosecutors accusing the former cryptocurrency star of building his empire “on lies” and living a lavish lifestyle while defrauding his customers. Defense attorneys countered by presenting Bankman-Fried as a “math nerd” with good intentions who got in over his head.

The second day of the trial began with Judge Lewis Kaplan finalizing a group of 12 jurors who would hear the case, along with six alternates, and later in the afternoon featured prosecutors calling their first witness.






Bankman-Fried, founder of the now fallen cryptocurrency exchange FTXand its sister hedge fund, Alameda Research, is charged with a host of financial crimes surrounding the shocking implosion of his companies late last year. FTX went from being valued at $32bn to bankruptcy within weeks, while once-lauded crypto mogul Bankman-Fried became a pariah.

 

[Howl]

Crytocurrency related: The DoJ Office of Public Affairs just released this statement: Justice Department Announces Eight Indictments Against China-Based Chemical Manufacturing Companies and Employees.

This is a very long statement, noting that "Chinese chemical companies are fueling the fentanyl crisis in the United States by sending fentanyl precursors, fentanyl analogues, xylazine, and nitazenes into our country and into Mexico."

How big is the problem?
"Fentanyl is the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 49. From February 2022 to January, at least 105,263 Americans died of drug overdoses, the majority of which involved synthetic opioids such as fentanyl and fentanyl analogues."

How does crypto fit in?
"These China-based chemical companies often attempt to evade law enforcement by using re-shippers in the United States, false return labels, false invoices, fraudulent postage, and packaging that conceals the true contents of the parcels and the identity of the distributors. In addition, these companies tend to use cryptocurrency transactions to conceal their identities and the location and movement of their funds.

 

[arielilane]

While appearing to be riding the wave of the booming digital asset revolution, gathering celebrity endorsements and political allies alike, it turns out SBF was drowning in debt and capital misallocation amongst the loud, mainstream praise.

https://twitter.com/thebtcmag

 

[Countem]

An excellent summary of yesterday’s trial witnesses.

Was Sam Bankman-Fried’s bean bag chair a lie too?

It’s hard to prove a lie — but the government is convincing.

www.theverge.com

 

[watergirl62]

An excellent summary of yesterday’s trial witnesses.

Was Sam Bankman-Fried’s bean bag chair a lie too?

It’s hard to prove a lie — but the government is convincing.

www.theverge.com

Excellent summary indeed...wow! Yedidia's testimony is eye-opening, and I'm guessing he is not the prosecution's ace in the hole, either.

 

[JerseyGirl]

FTX Co-Founder Gary Wang testifies in SBF fraud trial

Several of Sam Bankman-Fried's closest associates testified against the former FTX CEO in his criminal fraud trial this week, including FTX Co-Founder Gary Wang. Yahoo Finance Legal Correspondent Alexis Keenan reports on Wang's testimony, outlining claims of SBF's intent to commit fraud...

finance.yahoo.com

 

[Countem]

Today the FTX jury suffered through a code review

What did Gary Wang commit?

www.theverge.com

Here is an excellent summary of the very technical day two of the SBF trial. Testimony from GW centered around the coding that allowed Alameda Research to withdraw “unlimited” funds from FTX.

 

[ifindedout]

This was 11 months ago, but just how bad was it for SBF? How much did he lose?

https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/09/business/sam-bankman-fried-wealth-ftx-ctrp/index.html

Just the headline of this short article tells it all (CNN articles don't unfurl)

Crypto’s white knight lost 94% of his wealth in a single day​

 

[JerseyGirl]

Sam Bankman-Fried’s ex-girlfriend’s testimony could be the most damning evidence yet | Sam Bankman-Fried | The Guardian

Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research, will take the stand as the prosecution’s star witness on Tuesday

amp.theguardian.com

 

[ifindedout]

Ellison takes 30 seconds to recognize SBF:

Caroline Ellison took almost 30 seconds to recognize ex-boyfriend Sam Bankman-Fried as testimony begins

Caroline Ellison, the former head of Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto hedge fund, took the stand Tuesday as the prosecution’s star witness against the FTX founder

www.nbcphiladelphia.com

Caroline Ellison, the former head of Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto hedge fund and the government's star witness in the criminal fraud case against the FTX founder, testified on Tuesday that she and her ex-boss defrauded customers, investors and lenders.

"Yes, we did," Ellison said, when Danielle Sassoon, assistant U.S. attorney, asked if she committed a crime. "I mean Sam and I and others."

From a courthouse in downtown Manhattan, Ellison then listed her crimes: "fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, and money laundering."

 

[ch_13]

Ellison takes 30 seconds to recognize SBF:

Weird.

When asked by Sassoon to identify the defendant, Ellison stood up and, for almost 30 seconds, looked around the room. She turned her head all the way to the left to the jury box and back to the right again multiple times before finally identifying Bankman-Fried as sitting "over there and wearing a suit."

Does she think she's playing some kind of game here?

 

[ifindedout]

Weird.

When asked by Sassoon to identify the defendant, Ellison stood up and, for almost 30 seconds, looked around the room. She turned her head all the way to the left to the jury box and back to the right again multiple times before finally identifying Bankman-Fried as sitting "over there and wearing a suit."

Does she think she's playing some kind of game here?

Gotta be. Unless he got a haircut....