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☆ Sam Bankman-Fried's ex-girlfriend set to take stand as fraud trial's star witness
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz//File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Champion Trust Llc FollowNEW YORK, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Sam Bankman-Fried's fraud trial is set to resume on Tuesday with testimony from his former colleagues at the now-bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange, including his onetime girlfriend Caroline Ellison. Prosecutors said last week they planned to call Ellison, the former co-chief executive officer of Bankman-Fried's Alameda Research hedge fund, to take the stand once Wang finishes his testimony. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan said that likely amounted to witness-tampering, and on Aug. 11 revoked Bankman-Fried's bail. A third former member of Bankman-Fried's inner circle, ex-FTX engineering chief Nishad Singh, is also expected to testify at trial. Reporting by Luc Cohen and Jody Godoy in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Eduardo Munoz, Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, Prosecutors, Ellison, Wang, Ellison's, Fried, District Judge Lewis Kaplan, Nishad Singh, FTX, Christian Everdell, Mark Cohen, Luc Cohen, Jody Godoy, Noeleen Walder, Matthew Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Alameda Research, New York Times, U.S, District, Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, Bankman, Alameda, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, Alameda, Brooklyn's, Manhattan, Washington ,

☆ The $8 billion Sam Bankman-Fried criminal trial starts today — here's what's at stake and how we got here
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +19 min

In the first trial, Bankman-Fried faces seven criminal counts related to the collapse of the crypto empire he built, including wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering. Alameda, FTX and a host of subsidiaries Bankman-Fried founded filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware. FTX's own terms of use specifically forbade him, or Alameda, from using customer money for anything — unless the customer allowed it. And from FTX's inception, there was a lot of customer money. Bankman-Fried and other executives admitted to each other that "FTX customer funds were irrevocably lost because Alameda had appropriated them."

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, Ellison, FTX, Wang, Judge Lewis Kaplan, Samuel Bankman, MacKenzie Sigalos, San Francisco —, SBF, Wang —, Nishad Singh —, Goldman Sachs, Binance, Damian Williams, Rehypothecation, —, Crypto, Solana, Zhao, he'd, Cromwell, John J, Ray, John Ray's, — CNBC's Rohan Goswami Organizations: Alameda Research, Southern, of, Stanford, MIT, U.S, New York Times, Bankman, That's, CNBC, Jane, Capital, University of California, Formula, Democratic, Twitter, Securities Exchange Commission, SEC, Futures Trading, United States Attorney's Office, CFTC, Alameda, Alameda didn't, Voyager, BlockFi, FTX, Industry, Investors, Zhao, Publicly, Sullivan, Enron Locations: Bahamas, Manhattan, New York, Alameda, of New York, FTX, Brooklyn , New York, San Francisco, South Korea, Alameda , California, Fried's Alameda, Berkeley, Miami, Washington, Delaware, California, Federal, Solana, Fried

July 23 (Reuters) - Lawyers for FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried rejected prosecutors' claims that his discussions with a New York Times reporter amounted to witness tampering but agreed to accept a gag order, they said in a letter to the judge in the criminal fraud case. The letter, released on Sunday, came after prosecutors sought to bar Bankman-Fried and allies from making public statements that could interfere with the case. Cryptocurrency exchange FTX, once valued at $32 billion, filed for bankruptcy protection in November as it was unable to repay depositors. Ellison led Bankman-Fried's Alameda Research hedge fund and has pleaded guilty to defrauding investors and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. In December, Bankman-Fried said he and Ellison had been in a relationship but gave no further details.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, Caroline Ellison, Mark Cohen, Ellison, Mrinmay Dey, Christopher Cushing Organizations: New York Times, U.S ., Star, Alameda Research, Thomson Locations: Bankman, Alameda

The prosecutors wrote to U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan on Thursday referencing a New York Times article titled "Inside the Private Writings of Caroline Ellison, Star Witness in the FTX Case". Ellison led Bankman-Fried's Alameda Research hedge fund and has pleaded guilty to defrauding investors and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. In December, Bankman-Fried said he and Ellison had been in a relationship but gave no further details. Neither New York Times nor Ellison's lawyers responded to Reuters' requests for comment. The prosecutors argued that by sharing these documents, Bankman-Fried was trying to malign Ellison's credibility, and that such conduct could chill witnesses from testifying and taint the jury pool.

Persons: Sam Bankman, District Judge Lewis Kaplan, Caroline Ellison, Ellison, Fried, Prosecutors, Bankman, FTX, Shubham Kalia, Gokul, Jonathan Stempel, Sam Holmes Organizations: U.S, District, New York Times, Star, Alameda Research, FTX Trading, Thomson Locations: Bankman, Alameda, Bengaluru, New York

July 20 (Reuters) - FTX Trading on Thursday sued founder Sam Bankman-Fried and other former executives of the cryptocurrency exchange, seeking to recoup more than $1 billion they allegedly misappropriated before FTX went bankrupt. FTX is now led by John Ray, who helped manage Enron after the energy trader's 2001 bankruptcy. FTX said Bankman-Fried and Wang also misappropriated $546 million to buy shares of Robinhood Markets (HOOD.O), while Ellison used $28.8 million to pay herself bonuses. The case is FTX Trading Ltd et al v Bankman-Fried et al, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware, No. The main bankruptcy case is In re FTX Trading Ltd et al in the same court, No.

Persons: Sam Bankman, FTX, Caroline Ellison, Gary, Wang, Nishad Singh, Fried, John Ray, Ellison, Singh, Jonathan Stempel, Mike Scarcella, Leslie Adler Organizations: Alameda Research, Enron, U.S, Robinhood, Bankruptcy, District of, FTX, bk, Thomson Locations: Delaware, Alameda, U.S, District, District of Delaware, New York

☆ Analysis: Bankman-Fried's bid to shift blame complicated by new charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Former FTX technology chief Gary Wang and Caroline Ellison, formerly the CEO of Bankman-Fried's Alameda Research hedge fund, had each previously pleaded guilty and are cooperating. Bankman-Fried previously pleaded not guilty to stealing billions of dollars in FTX customer funds to plug losses at Alameda. The 31-year-old former billionaire and his lawyers have suggested they will attempt to shift blame onto Ellison and dispute her expected testimony at his Oct. 2 trial. In unveiling the new charges in a superseding indictment, prosecutors dismissed the idea that Bankman-Fried was in the dark about his former colleagues' crimes. Despite the hurdles, experts said Bankman-Fried will still likely dispute that he knew former members of his inner circle were breaking the law, Kasten said.

☆ FTX has a massive $9.5 billion shortfall in top crypto and cash needed to repay customers, the bankrupt exchange's new bosses say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

FTX has a $9.5 billion shortfall in top crypto and cash to repay customers, bankruptcy lawyers say. Just $694 million in assets of $2.2 billion recovered are easy to cash in. FTX US also has a shortfall, with $191 million in assets versus $335 million of customer claims and $283 million of related party claims payable. In January, bankruptcy lawyers said they had recovered $5.5 billion in liquid assets from FTX. The Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has estimated that $8 billion of client money had been lost by the exchange.

☆ Anthony Scaramucci's SkyBridge Capital limited redemptions as bets on FTX and crypto resulted in a 39% loss last year
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Anthony Scaramucci's SkyBridge Capital suffered a 39% loss in its top funds in 2022, according to Bloomberg. That's due to losing bets on FTX and cryptocurrencies, pushing investors to pull their money out. SkyBridge investors asked to withdraw 60% of a top fund's capital in the September 30 redemption period, but it only returned 10%. SkyBridge investors asked to withdraw 60% of the top fund's capital in the September 30 redemption period, but it only returned 10%, according to filings cited by Bloomberg. Additionally, SkyBridge funds were listed as owning 244,196 common shares and 61,049 Series B-1 Preferred shares of FTX Trading.

☆ Anthony Scaramucci says he got only $400,000 back on his $10 million investment in FTX's token
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Anthony Scaramucci says he only got $400k back from a $10 million investment in FTX's token. The SkyBridge Capital investor backed FTT after receiving $45 million in funding from FTX. The coin lost 91% of its value in a matter of days following allegations Bankman-Fried's Alameda Research held a significant amount of the FTT token, falling from averages around $24 to less than $1. SkyBridge received $45 million of funding from Bankman-Fried after FTX bought a 30% stake in the company, of which Scaramucci invested $10 million in FTT, before eventually selling it at a loss of $9.6 million. I'm not going to be the person that takes no more risk in the future because I got burned by Sam."

☆ A tiny rural bank which Alameda bought an $11.5 million stake in is giving up its crypto and weed ambitions to return to its community roots
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sam Bankman-Fried's Alameda research invested $11.5 million in Farmington State Bank last year. New owners planned to serve the crypto and cannabis industries, but are giving up after FTX's collapse. The New York Times reported last November that Sam Bankman-Fried's Alameda had bought an $11.5 million share in Farmington State Bank. Farmington State Bank was purchased in 2020 by FBH, a company owned by the "Inspector Gadget" co-creator Jean Chalopin. Alameda bought 10% of FBH for $11.5 million in January 2022, even though the bank had a net worth of $5.7 million at the time, according to The Times.

☆ Crypto publication CoinDesk hires Lazard to explore sale as crisis deepens at parent company DCG
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Crypto trade publication CoinDesk is exploring a potential sale, hiring advisors at Lazard to weigh a move that would remove it from Barry Silbert's Digital Currency Group. The Wall Street Journal was first to report on the media company's hiring of Lazard. That reporting sparked a downward spiral at crypto exchange FTX, ultimately leading to the collapse of the company in November, the arrest of Bankman-Fried and multiple regulatory probes. Genesis is also the subject of a Securities and Exchange Commission charge alongside crypto exchange Gemini. Worth said Lazard will help CoinDesk "explore various options to attract growth capital to the CoinDesk business, which may include a partial or full sale."

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried's trading firm borrowed $65 billion from FTX via a 'secret backdoor' to fund donations and a luxury lifestyle, bankruptcy court hears
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Bankruptcy lawyers revealed Sam Bankman-Fried's Alameda had access to $65 billion from FTX. The customer loans were made available via a backdoor created by FTX cofounder Gary Wang, they said. It was $65 billion." Dietderich told the court that with the $65 billion back door, Alameda "bought planes, houses, threw parties, made political donations." The court heard how FTX had so far recovered $5 billion of cash, crypto, and securities, with "plans to monetize over 300 other non-strategic investments" worth $4.6 billion.

☆ New York AG accuses Celsius ex-CEO of defrauding crypto investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

New York Attorney General Letitia James sued former Celsius Network CEO Alex Mashinsky on Thursday, alleging that Mashinsky defrauded hundreds of thousands of investors at his now-bankrupt crypto exchange. At one point, deposits at the crypto exchange were valued at $20 billion, according to the complaint. But Mashinsky's statements were false, James alleges, and became part of the former Celsius CEO's efforts to hide deep losses on risky crypto-lending investments. Celsius investors were left bereft and so despondent that some considered suicide, CNBC previously reported. Celsius entered bankruptcy proceedings with only $1.75 billion in crypto assets, a far cry from the $4.7 billion it owed users.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried's Alameda Research sells $1.7 million in crypto amid bankruptcy and still holds over $112 million in tokens
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Alameda Research liquidated $1.7 million worth of cryptocurrencies over the past 24 hours. Data showed that wallets associated with Alameda unloaded Ethereum-based tokens, which were later swapped for bitcoin. The sales come amid bankruptcy proceedings for Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto empire. Arkham said in a Twitter thread that wallets linked to Alameda Research were dormant up until Wednesday, with the last prior transaction occurring on December 1. Alameda Research currently holds $112 million worth of cryptocurrencies, CoinDesk says, a decline from $140 million in holdings in November.

☆ The 5 biggest market losers in 2022: Elon Musk and Sam Bankman-Fried lead turbulent year
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Elon Musk saw a massive chunk of his wealth disappear in 2022, while Sam Bankman-Fried faces federal fraud charges. But other sectors of the market suffered major setbacks amid a turbulent year, such as housing. Here are the five biggest market losers of 2022. But other sectors of the market suffered major setbacks amid a turbulent macro environment that included red-hot inflation, 425 basis points in Fed rate hikes, and Russia's war on Ukraine. Here's a list of the five biggest market losers in 2022.

☆ Caroline Ellison told a judge she's 'truly sorry' for defrauding FTX customers – and 'knew that it was wrong'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Caroline Ellison told a judge she's "truly sorry" for her role in FTX's collapse, per New York Times. The former CEO of Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto-trading firm Alameda Research told US District Judge Ronnie Abrams in Manhattan federal court "I am truly sorry for what I did. The court unsealed the transcript of her plea hearing on December 22. Ellison told the judge she went along with the decision of her ex-boyfriend Bankman-Fried and others to conceal the close relationship between FTX and Alameda, according to the transcript seen by The Times. She also said she agreed with the decision to divert billions in customer deposits at FTX to pay off loans of Alameda.

☆ This 26-year-old FTX investor lost access to $14,000 when Sam Bankman-Fried's exchange collapsed. Now he plans to keep his money in stocks.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

In an interview with Insider, Daniil Pemberton said the collapse of FTX has rattled his trust in companies within crypto sector. The 26-year-old lost access to about $14,000 in his FTX account, which included bitcoin and ether. FTX also reportedly transferred billions of dollars in customer funds to Bankman-Fried's Alameda crypto hedge fund. "I lost faith in the companies within crypto," Pemberton said. Pivoting to traditional investmentsIn the implosion of FTX, Pemberton said he lost approximately 60% of his total portfolio, including stocks and holdings across other exchanges, including Binance.

Bankman-Fried and unnamed co-conspirators made "tens of millions of dollars in illegal campaign contributions" to both Democratic and Republican candidates and campaign committees, Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for Southern New York, said at a news conference unveiling the eight-count criminal indictment, which included a campaign finance violation charge. "And all of this dirty money," Williams said, was used to "buy bipartisan influence and impact the direction of public policy in Washington." FTX boss Sam Bankman-Fried is escorted by police officers as he leaves court in Nassau, Bahamas on Dec. 13, 2022. The indictment alleges he also made illegal contributions through a corporation, which it does not name. Once believed to be a financial wunderkind, Bankman-Fried also faces a host of other charges.

☆ Binance boss says Sam Bankman-Fried's trading firm tried to undermine key token Tether — risking a crypto rout
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Binance boss Changpeng Zhao accused Sam Bankman-Fried's Alameda Research of trying to drive down the price of Tether, according to the New York Times. The stablecoin’s collapse would likely trigger a crypto crash, analysts have warned. US federal prosecutors are already investigating Bankman-Fried for manipulating the price of both of those cryptocurrencies, the New York Times reported Wednesday. Having reached $1 again in July, Tether slipped away to fall to $0.9963 on November 10 as FTX's bankruptcy sent ripples through the crypto sector. Analysts have repeatedly warned that the stablecoin's collapse would cause a wider crypto crash — and argued that Tether poses a systemic risk to the crypto sector.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried secretly invested in crypto news site The Block by funneling money to its CEO: report
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried secretly funded crypto news site The Block, Axios reported. Axios said the the news site, The Block, has been funded by payments from Alameda to the site's now-former CEO, Michael McCaffrey. Employees were previously unaware of the investment, Axios reported, but the revelation could raise conflict-of-interest concerns. "Just before Thanksgiving, Mike told me that in early 2021 he was evaluating ways to merge, sell or restructure The Block," Moran wrote in a blog post. A $16 million batch of funding from Alameda was used in part to purchase an apartment in the Bahamas for McCaffrey, Axios reported.

☆ FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is being investigated for crypto market manipulation: NYT
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

US federal prosecutors have launched a probe into FTX founder SBF for market manipulation, per NYT. The probe is in its early stages and it's unclear if prosecutors have determined any wrongdoing. FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on November 11 after an intense week-long liquidity squeeze. The investigation is in its early stages, and it's unclear if prosecutors have determined any wrongdoing by the crypto exchange founder. Bankman Fried told the Times in a statement on Wednesday he was "not aware of any market manipulation and certainly never intended to engage in market manipulation."

☆ SBF's Alameda racked up $55,000 Margaritaville debt by snapping up around 20 premium suites for workers, who took bus across tropical island to work, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Insider earlier reported how Sam Bankman-Fried's Alameda owed $55,319 to Margaritaville. Employees told Bloomberg that the company used around 20 premium suites for Alameda staff. Staff at the 4-star hotel told Bloomberg that employees of FTX entities stayed there for several months this year, and were generally friendly. Employees told Bloomberg that the company had around 20 suites in One Particular Harbour – a high-end building designed for longer stays, next to the main resort. One resort employee told Bloomberg that they had plans to go out on the town with friends from FTX, but never had the chance after the firm went bankrupt.

☆ The unraveling of $3 billion crypto lender BlockFi amid FTX's 'death spiral', according to bankruptcy filings
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The crypto platform owes $30 million to the SEC, per bankruptcy filings. FTX, which once offered BlockFi a $400 million credit line, ultimately led to the firm's bankruptcy. BlockFi cited significant exposure to Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto empire, which filed for bankruptcy on November 11. Ironically, once FTX's "death spiral" began, BlockFi's liquidity crisis ensued and the company paused user account withdrawals on its platform. Due to the loan agreement and $355 million in digital assets held on FTX, BlockFi had substantial exposure.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried's Alameda Research shielded FTX from a loss of up to $1 billion after a customer trade blew up a year before the exchange collapsed, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Carla Mozée | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Alameda Research in 2021 stepped in to shelter FTX from a loss of up to $1 billion, the FT reported Friday. An FTX client's leveraged bet on a little-known token tore through buffers aimed at shielding FTX from losses. The April 2021 incident highlights the deep ties between Sam Bankman-Fried's companies. The April 2021 incident took place more than a year before FTX collapsed last month following a run on the exchange. The ties between the exchange and the hedge fund are at the center of the implosion of FTX, with allegations that FTX had lent customer funds to Alameda for trading.

☆ US stocks finish mixed amid fears of more Fed hawkishness after hot jobs report
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Dow reversed higher as the Fed is still largely expected to slow its pace of rate hikes. But the hot jobs data could push the Fed to tack on more rate hikes in early 2023, some analysts say. JPMorgan Asset Management chief strategist David Kelly said the jobs report was likely distorted, and there's still plenty of room for the Fed to taper rate hikes and pause in 2023. Principal Asset Management chief strategist Seema Shah said the jobs report could push the Fed to raise rates above 5%. "This report doesn't mean the risks of the Fed raising rates to 6% are back on the table.

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