Category FTX

Nov 3 2023

Sam Bankman-Fried Found Guilty on All Seven Counts


Posted originally on the CTH on November 2, 2023 | Sundance

Crypto conman Sam Bankman-Fried has been found guilty on all seven counts of fraud and conspiracy. The evidence was overwhelming and the three former executives who worked side by side with him testified against him.

Former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison and former FTX executives Gary Wang and Nishad Singh, said SBF directed them to commit crimes, including the looting of FTX and lying to lenders and investors about the companies’ finances.

NEW YORK, Nov 2 (Reuters) – FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty on Thursday of defrauding customers of his now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange in one of the biggest financial frauds on record, a verdict that cemented the 31-year-old former billionaire’s fall from grace.

A 12-member jury in Manhattan federal court convicted him on all seven counts he faced after a monthlong trial in which prosecutors made the case that he stole $8 billion from the exchange’s customers out of sheer greed. The verdict came just shy of one year after FTX filed for bankruptcy in a swift corporate meltdown that shocked financial markets and erased his estimated $26 billion personal fortune.

The jury reached the verdict after just over four hours of deliberations. Bankman-Fried stood and clasped his hands together as the verdict was read.

Bankman-Fried had pleaded not guilty to two counts of fraud and five counts of conspiracy.

The conviction represented a victory for the U.S. Justice Department and Damian Williams, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, who made rooting out corruption in financial markets one of his top priorities. (read more)

…”FTX cofounder Gary Wang, who was FTX’s chief technology officer, revealed in his testimony that Bankman-Fried directed him to insert code into FTX’s operations so that Alameda Research could make unlimited withdrawals from FTX and have a credit line up to $65 billion. Wang said the money came from customers.”… ~ Politico

Feb 3 2023

Is Digital Currency Safe?


Armstrong economics Blog/Cryptocurrency Re-Posted Feb 3, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

It turns out that North Korea-backed hackers stole a record $1.7bn of cryptocurrency in 2022, according to blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis. It also appears that they had a hand in the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX where the auditors have reported that around $415m of cryptocurrency has been stolen by hackers.  This is becoming a very interesting story with several facets from funding North Korea to laundering money for Zelensky to pay off the Democrats for the Midterm elections.

There is no way they will let this case go to trial. They will have to cut a deal or they are going to need to have some pumped-up loser kill him when on bail, or Judge Lewis Kaplan will have to revoke his bail and put him in MCC where they can kill him easily and blame another inmate and the guards fell asleep once again and, of course, the camera didn’t work.

At the end of the day, North Korea has been making a lot of money hacking into cryptocurrencies. Your crypto is going to a good cause – World War III to achieve Bill Gate’s dream – population reduction since the vaccines did not kill enough people off – yet.

Jan 17 2023

The Majority MUST Always be Wrong


Armstrong Economics Blog/Training Tools Re-Posted Jan 17, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Following the crowd of what is popular and supposed to be the cutting edge of investment, Robert Belfer, the oil Barron, lost billions with ENRON and then Bernie Madoff. Then he became a shareholder in FTX. With a track record like that, you certainly would be firing your financial adviser.  The inside joke about DAVOS is that whatever the theme forecast they put out and what they all talk about has NEVER been right. The joke is to do the opposite of the DAVOS forecast and you will make money. Andy Serwer, editor-in-chief of Yahoo Finance, asked Warren Buffett in a 2019 interview about the DAVOS forecasts. He responded: “Well, I pay none as a guideline to doing anything,” Buffett responded. I have said many times, the majority MUST be wrong for they provide the market energy to create the boom/bust cycle. Because the majority buy the high, when they sell, you get the crash. When everyone is short at the bottom, you get the rally.

Dec 23 2022

Manhattan Judge Sets $250 Million Bond and House Arrest for FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried


Posted originally on the CTH on December 22, 2022 | Sundance

FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried waived an extradition fight and U.S. Marshals flew him from the Bahamas to New York late Wednesday night.  Appearing in a Manhattan court today, the judge set bail at $250 million and permits SBF to remain under house arrest at his parent’s California home until trial begins.

Additionally, it was revealed that Carolyn Ellison, 28, the former chief executive of Bankman-Fried’s trading firm, Alameda Research, and Gary Wang, 29, who co-founded FTX, pleaded guilty to charges including wire fraud, securities fraud and commodities fraud.  Both are cooperating witnesses with the prosecution against the FTX founder.

New York – The cryptocurrency entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried can post $250 million bond and live in his parents’ home in California while he awaits trial on charges that he swindled investors and looted customer deposits on his FTX trading platform, a judge said Thursday.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas Roos said in U.S. District Court in Manhattan that Bankman-Fried, 30, “perpetrated a fraud of epic proportions.” Roos proposed strict bail terms, including a $250 million bond and house arrest at his parents’ home in Palo Alto, California.

An important reason for allowing bail was that Bankman-Fried agreed to waive extradition, Roos said.

Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein agreed to the bond and also approved the house arrest proposal. He also said Bankman-Fried would be required to get an electronic monitoring bracelet before leaving the Manhattan courthouse.

[…] Prosecutors and regulators contend that Bankman-Fried was at the center of several illegal schemes to use customer and investor money for personal gain. He faces the possibility of decades in prison if convicted on all counts.

In a series of interviews before his arrest, Bankman-Fried said he never intended to defraud anyone.

Bankman-Fried is charged with using money, illicitly taken from FTX customers, to enable trades at Alameda, spend lavishly on real estate, and make millions of dollars in campaign contributions to U.S. politicians. (read more)

Dec 22 2022

There will Never Be a Trial for FTX


Armstrong Economics Blog/Rule of Law Re-Posted Dec 22, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

You have to understand the way the government prosecutes its cases. If you look closely, all cases are charged with CONSPIRACY. That means the proof is NOT the crime itself, but only an AGREEMENT to commit a crime. Bankman-Fried’s ex-girlfriend, Caroline Ellison, who was also the CEO of Alameda Research, a privately-controlled hedge fund, and Gary Wang, co-founder of FTX, have both pleaded guilty earlier this week, according to newly unsealed court documents. That means the case is already over.

Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang cut deals so they get less time, or even no time, in return for throwing Bankman-Fried under the bus. They would take the stand and will be prepared by the prosecution and artfully say whatever they are instructed to maintain the government’s 99% conviction rate.

With their pleas in hand, in addition to all the press against Bankman-Fried, there is no way he could ever win a trial. His lawyers will be urging him to take a deal. That will be the end result with no trial and no shot of the truth EVER surfacing. All the money laundering from Democrats funding Zelensky, who then in turn handed cash to FTX who then was the 2nd largest donor to the Democrats for the Midterms, will remain hidden from ever gracing the history books without someone doing a FOIA 25 years from now.

One of the few New York Judges who exposed the corruption in the prosecution, Jed S. Rakoff, wrote: Why Innocent People Plead Guilty. They will threaten someone with 25 years in prison. Plead guilty and say what we need you to say, and you will get 5 years or less.

So, any hope that putting Bankman-Fried on trial is a fool’s dream. The whole money laundering scheme with Zelensky funneling cash back to the Democrats will never see the light of a jury.

The ONLY question will be is he too found dead from suicide? This is the same jail where Epstein supposedly committed suicide. This is the same place they tried to kill me, but I survived after being in a coma for several days. High-profile cases NEVER see the light of day – EVER!

Dec 18 2022

Exclusive Interview with Sam Bankman-Fried!


Awaken With JP Published originally on Rumble on December 17, 2022 

WOW, JP has done it again

Dec 13 2022

Sam Bankman-Fried Charged in New York & Arrested in the Bahamas


Armstrong Economics Blog/Rule of Law Re-Posted Dec 12, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Sam Bankman-Fried of cryptocurrency giant FTX and trading firm Alameda Research, has been arrested in the Bahamas on criminal charges, the Bahamas Attorney General’s Office announced Monday. The arrest “followed receipt of formal notification from the United States that it has filed criminal charges against SBF and is likely to request his extradition,” the office said.

In a statement, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Earlier this evening, Bahamian authorities arrested Samuel Bankman-Fried at the request of the U.S. government, based on a sealed indictment filed by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time.”

He will be held at MCC, the same dungeon in which Jeffrey Epstein supposedly committed suicide. WIth his connections with all the Democrats, this is going to be interesting to see if he too suddenly commits suicide.

Nov 22 2022

FTX Deep Fake- The Funds are Gone


Blog/Corruption

Posted Nov 22, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

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Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is hiding out in the Bahamas, where he is allegedly attempting to recover “lost” funds. “I hate what happened and deeply wish that I had been more careful,” Bankman-Fried passively told reporters at CNBC after causing his own customers to lose billions in crypto. No one is going to lend that man a penny or touch FTX.

FTX filed for Chapter 11 on November 11, and John Ray III, the man who restructured Enron, is now CEO. Ray said that he is hoping for a bailout but said the situation is dire and the worst failure he has witnessed in his 40-year career. FTX’s balance sheets were “unaudited and produced while the Debtors [FTX] were controlled by Mr. Bankman-Fried,” according to Ray. As there is no accurate bookkeeping, it would not be “appropriate for stakeholders or the Court to rely on the audited financial statements as a reliable indication of the financial circumstances.” Ray believes a “substantial portion” of FTX’s holdings were either stolen or missing.

Sam Bankman-Fried said he wishes FTX did not file for bankruptcy as he personally no longer can control the company’s restructuring. FTX and 100 subsidiaries located in Delaware are under chapter 11, but FTX Digital Markets, based in the Bahamas, is separate and Bankman-Fried believes he has some shot in the dark with those assets. “F— regulators, they make everything worse,” the 30-year-old tweeted. Regardless, the money is gone.

A deep fake video began circulating over the weekend of Sam Bankman-Fried:

“Hello everyone. As you know our FTX exchange is going bankrupt,” the deep fake of Bankman-Fried said in the video. “But I hasten to inform all users that you should not panic. As compensation for the loss we have prepared a giveaway for you in which you can double your cryptocurrency. To do this, just go to the site [redacted].”

The video attempted to take advantage of victims by asking them to enroll in a fake crypto giveaway. The video is a complete lie – that is not Sam Bankman-Fried, and the victims will not receive compensation. What people must understand is that there is no record of these funds existing anywhere. No one knows who worked for FTX, as all basic information has been shielded. These mysterious employees were encouraged to use software that automatically deleted messages, and they often spoke in code. Alameda Silo, Ventures Silo, and Bankman-Fried’s other entities allegedly invested in holdings but did not keep a record of their activities. There is no list of bank accounts, signatories, or evidence of debtors’ creditworthiness. No one knows how much money FTX should have or where the funds have gone.

Do not believe these deep fakes and do not believe anything Bankman-Fried says, whether a deep fake or not. As Ray explained, “Mr. Bankman-Fried is not employed by the Debtors and does not speak for them. Mr. Bankman-Fried, currently in the Bahamas, continues to make erratic and misleading public statements.”