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New York CNN —Sam Bankman-Fried, the alleged crypto grifter, is about to learn which of two profoundly divergent paths he’ll take on the road to trial. One path allows him to continue his house arrest in the comfort of his parents’ California home. If his bail is revoked, Bankman-Fried will be immediately remanded to a notorious federal detention center in Brooklyn. Bankman-Fried, who has pleaded not guilty to multiple conspiracy and fraud charges, is set to go to trial in October. But the company came unglued in the span of a week last November — as concerns about its financial ties to Bankman-Fried’s crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research, spurred investors and customers to yank their funds.

Persons: Sam Bankman, ’, Judge Lewis Kaplan, “, ”, Fried, Caroline Ellison, FTX Organizations: New, New York CNN, Bankman, Metropolitan Detention Center, New York Times, of Prisons, Prosecutors, Super Bowl, Alameda Research Locations: New York, ’ California, Brooklyn, Bahamas

☆ Opinion | From Jacobites to Populists
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Ross Douthat | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

It’s not that today’s populists (a few intellectuals aside) favor the restoration of an absolute or Catholic monarchy. Rather, like the original Jacobites, they represent a hodgepodge of somewhat disparate causes, unified mostly by their oppositional and outsider status, their distance from and defiance of the Whiggish metropole. As Frank McLynn points out in his history of the Jacobites, whatever specific designs the Stuarts had in mind, their movement always included a variety of competing ideological and religious tendencies. There were English Jacobites who wanted to see the Stuarts enthroned over all the British Isles. There were also plenty of opportunists, familiar from the grifter politics of our own day — smugglers and privateers seeking relief from a centralizing British state, bankrupt gentry seeking relief for their accumulated debts.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Bonnie Prince Charlie, Trump, Frank McLynn Organizations: European Union, London, Whig, Jacobite, Jacobites, Scottish Locations: England, United Kingdom, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Europe, Ulster, United States, Scottish, British, London

☆ HSBC CEO on Farage-Coutts spat: 'We do not exit clients based on their lawful personal views'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

HSBC's U.K. headquarters are seen at the Canary Wharf financial district of London on July 31, 2018. Although refusing to discuss details of other banks and their clients, HSBC boss Quinn told CNBC on Tuesday that "our policy is not to de-bank or exit a client based on their lawful personal views." "We also have a responsibility as an institution to look at any areas of financial crime compliance or we have an obligation to collect information on KYC (Know Your Customer), so we have those competing obligations but to reiterate, as a policy we do not exit clients based on their lawful personal views." The closure of Farage's account triggered a heated debate in the U.K. and rocked the domestic banking industry. NatWest CEO Alison Rose was forced to resign, after she admitted discussing details of Farage's Coutts account with a BBC reporter in the wake of his allegations.

Persons: Tolga Akmen, Noel Quinn, Coutts, Nigel Farage's, Farage, Coutts —, —, Quinn, Alison Rose, Farage's Coutts, Peter Flavel, Rishi Sunak, Jonathan Bachman Organizations: AFP, Getty, LONDON, HSBC, Trump, NatWest Group, CNBC, NatWest, BBC, Brexit Party, UKIP Locations: London, U.K

☆ Judge orders 3 of the 'Newburgh Four' freed in New York synagogue bomb plot
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Rich Mckay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] David Williams, one of four suspects arrested in an FBI sting operation, is escorted out of FBI offices in New York in this May 21, 2009 file photo. The men to be released are: Onta Williams, David Williams and Laguerra Payen, who were three of what became known as the "Newburgh Four." But Judge McMahon wrote that Cromitie was a small-time "grifter" who was broke and unemployed when he was enlisted in the FBI driven plot, who provided fake bombs to plant in exchange for $250,000 in the "jihadist mission." Cromitie enlisted the other three men to serve as lookouts, the judge wrote. The FBI invented the conspiracy," McMahon wrote.

Persons: David Williams, Onta Williams, Laguerra Payen, James Cromitie, Colleen McMahon, Cromitie, Judge McMahon, McMahon, Rich McKay, Michael Perry Organizations: Chip, New, FBI, Reuters, U.S, Thomson Locations: New York, New York City, Newburgh, Atlanta

☆ A CEO quits and the BBC apologizes to Trump ally Nigel Farage. A banking scandal erupts in Britain
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Alison Rose, NatWest chief executive, (right) departs 10 Downing Street in London, after meeting with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and several members of his Conservative government issued statements condemning the bank and characterizing the termination of Farage's account as an affront to free speech. Farage was offered an alternative account at regular main street bank NatWest, but declined. His critics maintain that although frequent references are made to Farage's political profile and controversial views, the reasons outlined for allowing the banking relationship to lapse were primarily commercial, and he was not "de-banked" as he claims. Without the mortgage, the bank indicated that Farage's account value would fall below its commercial criteria.

Persons: Jonathan Bachman, Alison Rose, Nigel, Coutts, Rose, Danni Hewson, AJ Bell, Farage, Coutts —, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, James Manning, Rishi Sunak, Nigel Farage, —, DANIEL LEAL, Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Frances Coppola, Coppola, Dave Rushen Organizations: Getty, LONDON, NatWest, BBC, UBS, Conservative, Brexit Party, Independence Party Leader, U.K, Independence Party, UKIP, Sky News, NatWest Group, Company Locations: London, U.K, inclusivity, Leicester, British

☆ NatWest goof is a boon for sketchy bank clients
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Liam Proud | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

LONDON, July 21 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A row between right-wing talking head Nigel Farage and UK bank NatWest (NWG.L) could have much broader consequences. Last November, a reputational risk committee of NatWest’s exclusive private bank Coutts decided to ditch Farage by summer 2023. After closing the Coutts wealth account, NatWest offered Farage a standard one at the parent group instead, for example. But for now the biggest winners from the Farage-Coutts row seem to be sketchy UK bank customers. Briefing papers presented to Coutts’ wealth reputational risk committee said Farage was “considered by many to be a disingenuous grifter”.

Persons: Nigel Farage, Alison Rose, Farage, Coutts, didn’t, Rose, Andrew Griffith, Coutts ’, “, ” Farage, George Hay, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, NatWest, Conservative, Treasury, Financial Ombudsman Service, Twitter, UK Independence Party, Thomson

☆ It’s official: Silicon Valley’s entire business model is a scam
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

The problem is, conservative economists at the University of Chicago have spent the past 50 years insisting that under capitalism, predatory pricing is not a thing. Predatory companies could never recoup their losses, which meant predatory behaviors are irrational. Lots of economists have come up with solid counter-counterarguments to the Chicago School's skepticism about predatory pricing. A company that engages in predatory pricing and its late-stage investors might not recoup, but the venture investors do. "If people in Silicon Valley start thinking about this as a predatory pricing scam, then I think the late-stage investors will start asking questions."

Persons: Matt Wansley, Wansley, we're, Uber, Cardozo, Sam Weinstein, gobs, you've, —, Brooke, Spencer Waller, Matsushita, Weinstein —, Justice Department —, it's, Weinstein, Matt, that's, Will Uber, Waller, David, Maurer, they've, Adam Rogers Organizations: Lyft, Big Tech, Cardozo School of Law, Justice Department, University of Chicago, Chicago School, Supreme, Matsushita Electric Industry Co, Zenith Radio Corp, Brooke Group, Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp, United, Loyola's School of Law, Venture, Matsushita, VCs, Chicago, Loyola, pharma, aha, Wansley Locations: United States, Chicago, Silicon Valley, Silicon

☆ Tony Predictions: Expect Wins for ‘Kimberly Akimbo’ and ‘Leopoldstadt’
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Michael Paulson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

What do you get when you toss together a brassy grifter, an Elvish-speaking anagrammist, a show choir and, oh yes, a teenager with a life-threatening genetic condition? This year, it seems, you get a Tony-winning musical. “Kimberly Akimbo,” a small show with a huge heart, is likely to win the most coveted prize at the 76th Tony Awards ceremony on Sunday, according to my annual survey of Tony voters. Over the last week, I have connected, by email or telephone, with 158 voters who generously agreed to discuss their picks (and, often, their concerns about, and hopes for, the theater business); they are distributing their votes widely among the nominees after a season with few consensus favorites. There are a total of 769 Tony voters, and they are mostly industry insiders — producers, investors, actors, writers, directors, designers, and many others with theater-connected lives and livelihoods.

Persons: Tony, “ Kimberly Akimbo

☆ ChatGPT is for suckers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Chatbots are bullshit engines built to say things with incontrovertible certainty and a complete lack of expertise. What is it that makes human beings trust a machine we know is untrustworthy? After millennia of debate, the world's leading philosophers, psychologists, and neuroscientists haven't even agreed on a mechanism for why people come to believe things, or what beliefs even are. We want Google results to be true, because we think of Google as a trusted arbiter, if not an authority. The power of storyAnother possible explanation of why we're suckers for chatbots is that we're suckers for explanation.

☆ The Fyre Festival fraudster is launching his latest thing, and it looks like a party on an island
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Jake Traylor | Jake Traylor Is An Associate Producer For Msnbc. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

He’s using different words, but he’s selling the same thing,” said Shiyuan Deng, a former product designer at Fyre Media, the company behind Fyre Festival. Deng resigned from Fyre Media shortly before it collapsed. Another former Fyre Media employee who asked to withhold their name out of concerns of retaliation also said PYRT reminded them of Fyre Festival. “The similarities are there around the vague mysterious promotion,’’ said the former employee of Fyre Media. McFarland said he believes PYRT will look considerably different from Fyre Festival.

☆ Fake teen doctor, now 25, sentenced to prison for new scam
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

Malachi Love-Robinson, 25, received a sentence of over two years and four months last week after pleading guilty in Palm Beach County, Florida, to grand theft and organized scheme to defraud. Instead of having customers make payments to the company, Love-Robinson would have them send the money to accounts he controlled. Love.”He stole $30,000 from a patient in her 80s during house calls and an additional $20,000 from a doctor. He was arrested after he examined and prescribed treatment to an undercover police officer who was impersonating a patient. He pleaded guilty in both cases and was released from prison in 2019.

☆ Republicans Lose the Plot on the Ukraine-Russia War
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

American support for Ukraine is “not charity,” Volodymyr Zelensky told Congress Wednesday night, and to put the return-on-investment plainly: U.S. aid is helping to degrade an enemy military without the death of a single American in uniform. The question is what some Republicans are thinking as they spent Thursday portraying Ukraine’s President as a grifter. GOP leader Kevin McCarthy has said he doesn’t support “a blank check” for Ukraine, as if anyone does, and concerns over how the money is spent are now a central GOP objection. Sen. Josh Hawley skipped Mr. Zelensky’s speech and told reporters he didn’t go “because I didn’t want to be part of the photo-op asking for more money from the United States government when they haven’t given us a single piece of accounting on anything they spent.”

☆ Hate Elon Musk all you want, but he's got one management trick that every boss should emulate
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Ed Zitron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Managers have become alarmingly distanced from the average worker, making calls based on guesses that aren't informed by actual labor. Musk has demanded that managers are able to create "good code" yet does not appear to be much of a coder himself. Jackson Palmer, a cocreator of dogecoin, said Musk was a "grifter" who "had trouble running basic code" in their interactions. He's targeted critical teams at Twitter and pushed others to quit, which have resulted in a huge upswing in hate speech on the platform. In fact, by his own logic of how managers can contribute to the company, Musk should be summarily firing himself any day now.

☆ House Republicans are going after Hunter Biden. Here's why the White House should be worried.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The new GOP House majority will likely subpoena Hunter Biden as they dig into his business dealings. The career of Hunter Biden, on the other hand, has all the earmarks of a real one. Nor will it protect the Biden White House from potential fallout stemming from the Justice Department's own criminal investigation of Hunter Biden, which is ongoing. During Joe Biden's vice presidency, Hunter Biden was openly trading on the Biden family name. A lawyer for Hunter Biden did not respond to Insider's request for comment Friday about the looming possibility of a congressional inquiry.

☆ Former GOP Rep. Denver Riggleman says his mother told him 'I'm sorry you were ever elected' via text after he criticized Trump: book
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Denver Riggleman said his mother criticized him via text after he spoke out against Trump and QAnon. I'm sorry you were ever elected," she reportedly wrote to him. Riggleman, an ex-advisor to the Jan. 6 committee, detailed the exchange in his new book, "The Breach." I love you so, but cannot stand by and listen to your elitist attitude and being praised by elitist journalist and democrats," Riggleman's mother wrote in the texts, according to the book. Riggleman wrote that his mother was religious and also firmly in the Republican camp.

☆ Steve Bannon surrenders in Manhattan 'We Build the Wall' donor-scam case
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-08 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Last time Bannon was busted in the "We Build the Wall" donor-scam case, it was aboard a $28 million yacht. And unlike after his 2020 arrest, Trump can't throw Bannon a life preserver in the form of a federal pardon. After he's booked, "they'll probably keep him in the DA-squad office, where they fingerprinted him, or the DA-Investigators' office," Saland said. There, he'll wait for his afternoon court appearance — quite possibly in a "1970s-era chair," Saland said. But it's certainly not going to be anything like a $28 million yacht."

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