Staff Reports
Democrat megadonor and cryptocurrency mogul Sam Bankman-Fried, commonly known as SBF, has had five charges pushed back by federal prosecutors. The disgraced businessman was arrested after the collapse of his cryptocurrency exchange, FTX. Original charges included accusations of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and campaign finance violations, and over $8 billion of FTX customer deposits were reportedly missing.
Prosecutors allege that Bankman-Fried took billions of dollars from customers for personal use, including luxury real estate and political donations. The scheme came to a halt when the cryptocurrency market crumbled last year. Additionally, in January, it was revealed that Bankman-Fried had used a secret backdoor to launder money to Alameda Research, an FTX sister company. His former girlfriend, Caroline Ellison, and CEO of Alameda Research, cut a deal with prosecutors in which she admitted that the pair conspired to mislead FTX customers and investors.
On Thursday, federal prosecutors said they would drop five charges against Bankman-Fried if the judge agreed to try him on those same charges later. Among the withdrawn charges was one relating to fraud in which Bankman-Fried is alleged to have created a fake company with no staff to get around being barred from a California bank account. Another charge accused him of bribery conspiracy, alleging that he spent $40 million trying to influence a Chinese government official.
It is notable that Bankman-Fried is a prominent Democrat megadonor who donated tens of millions of dollars to Democrat campaigns throughout the 2022 midterm elections cycle and was the party’s second biggest donor of the cycle. His Protect Our Future PAC supported 25 Democrats in Congressional races in 2022, contributing to wins in 18 of them. He reportedly donated $27 million to the PAC and made several other dark money donations, according to a report from Open Secrets. Bankman-Fried also made a substantial $5 million donation to President Biden’s campaign in 2020.
NEWS in the Sam Bankman-Fried case:
Prosecutors at the Southern District of New York agree to sever five charges from its planned October trial of SBF.
The government asks for those charges to be tried separately in the first quarter of 2024. pic.twitter.com/Yaioa10L72
— Teddy Schleifer (@teddyschleifer) June 15, 2023
It is crucial to hold those in power to account, no matter their political affiliations. The alleged actions of Bankman-Fried are concerning, particularly considering his significant donations to the Democrat party. It is vital that corruption be rooted out in all sectors, and justice must be served regardless of political ties.
Source: Trending Politics
