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☆ FTX ex-engineering chief Nishad Singh pleads guilty to criminal charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder of FTX Cryptocurrency Derivatives Exchange, arrives at court in New York, US, on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023. FTX ex-engineering head Nishad Singh pleaded guilty to criminal charges in New York on Tuesday, becoming the latest member of Sam Bankman-Fried's former leadership team to agree to a deal. The six charges against Singh include conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate campaign finance laws. In December, Bankman-Fried was charged with eight criminal accounts, including securities fraud and money laundering. Two of the charges against Singh are related to wire fraud and another is conspiracy to commit commodities fraud.

Bankman-Fried, FTX's founder, pleaded not guilty to eight criminal charges filed against him in December. Bankman-Fried now faces 12 criminal charges after prosecutors unsealed a new indictment against him last week. Singh is the third Bankman-Fried close associate to plead guilty and agree to cooperate with prosecutors. Caroline Ellison, who was Alameda's chief executive, and Gary Wang, who was FTX's chief technology officer, pleaded guilty in December to seven and four criminal charges, respectively. Singh was a close friend of Bankman-Fried's younger brother in high school, Bankman-Fried wrote in a deleted blog post.

☆ Former director of engineering at FTX Nishad Singh pleads guilty to criminal charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Kara Scannell | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —A former top executive of failed cryptocurrency trading platform FTX pleaded guilty and is cooperating with federal prosecutors investigating the alleged billion-dollar fraud at the now collapsed exchange. Nishad Singh, the former director of engineering at FTX, pleaded guilty to six conspiracy charges, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate federal campaign finances laws. Singh is the third top executive and close confidante of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried to plead guilty and cooperate with prosecutors. Gary Wang, co-founder of FTX, and Caroline Ellison, the former head of FTX’s sister hedge fund Alameda Research, both pleaded guilty last year and are cooperating against Bankman-Fried. New York state election records show Singh made a $107,000 donation to the committee on October 28, 2022.

Efforts to recoup them will highlight major flaws in political donations. On Thursday, former Chief Executive Sam Bankman-Fried was hit with additional criminal charges, including an accusation that he conspired with two former FTX executives to make more than 300 illegal political donations. Ray is hoping to add politicians’ returned donations to his coffers, and past blowups suggest he will have some luck. Madoff and Stanford’s political contributions, totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars each, pale in comparison to the $84 million-plus FTX executives gave campaigns. No other FTX executives, including Ryan Salame and Nishad Singh, have been charged with campaign finance violations at this time.

☆ SBF funneled $100 million in political donations for 'woke shit' and to Republicans through 2 executives to appear bipartisan, prosecutors say in new indictment
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Sam Bankman-Fried put political donations through two FTX execs to appear bipartisan, prosecutors say. An internal Alameda spreadsheet noted over $100 million in political contributions, according to the filing. A CNBC analysis of his political contributions beginning in 2020 found he donated more than $13 million to causes affiliated with the Democratic party. CC-1, prosecutors wrote, ultimately became on-paper "one of the largest Democratic donors in the 2022 midterm elections and helped further Bankman-Fried's political agenda." Bankman-Fried preferred to "keep contributions to Republicans 'dark'," but was the real engine behind CC-2's donations to the GOP, prosecutors wrote.

☆ FTX has chased politicians like Nancy Pelosi to return donations given before the crypto giant's collapse. They now have a deadline of February 28 to pay.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

In total, FTX employees donated $90 million to politicians, per The New York Times, and the debtors are trying to claim that back to reimburse customers. After Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX's Bahamas company, Ryan Salame, donated $23 million – making him the 15th top donor in the US, per OpenSecrets. The lawyers handling FTX's bankruptcy first requested the donations be returned in December. But in January, CoinDesk reported that just five of the 196 politicians who received money from FTX said they had successfully returned it. CoinDesk reports that Vance donated the money to a non-profit, but FTX has warned that this "does not prevent the FTX debtors from seeking recovery."

☆ U.S. says FTX founder Bankman-Fried needs limits on communications, asset access
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

They argued those assets were "vulnerable to exploitation and in need of protection from the defendant." Mark Cohen and Christian Everdell, who represent Bankman-Fried, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In Monday's letter, prosecutors called the message an effort to "improperly influence" the general counsel, no matter how benign it might seem. Bankman-Fried's lawyers have said their client was trying simply to provide assistance to the general counsel, and has not been not using the auto-delete feature. They also proposed that Bankman-Fried not be allowed to talk with select colleagues, including former Alameda chief Caroline Ellison, former FTX technology chief Zixiao "Gary" Wang and former FTX engineering chief Nishad Singh.

☆ SBF's mom, Caroline Ellison, and former FTX executives are not cooperating with the investigation into the disgraced crypto exchange, filing says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

SBF, his mom, his brother, and key executives in his crypto empire aren't cooperating in the FTX bankruptcy case, according to a recent court filing. FTX lawyers said several key insiders have not responded or declined to give requested information related to the collapsed exchange. But discussions with Bankman-Fried's father and another FTX executive have been making progress, the filing said. In particular, former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang have declined to give FTX's lawyers requested information. However, discussions with Bankman-Fried's father Joseph Bankman and former FTX COO Zhe Wang have been making progress, the filing said.

☆ An AI rival to ChatGPT passed a university level law and economics exam, and did better than many humans, professor says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

An AI received a marginal pass in a law and economics exam, economics professor Alex Tabarrok said. Tabarrok, a professor at George Mason University, said the AI's answer was "better than many human responses." The AI, known as Claude, was built by Anthropic, a company part-funded by Sam Bankman-Fried. Tabarrok said the exam was graded blind and that he considered Claude "a competitor" and "improvement" to OpenAI's GPT3, the tech underlying viral sensation ChatGPT. There has been an explosion of interest in AI capabilities since the launch of OpenAI's chatbot ChatGPT in November.

☆ Former top FTX engineer who lived in Sam Bankman-Fried's Bahamas penthouse is trying to cut a deal with fraud prosecutors, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

FTX's ex-chief engineer last week met prosecutors probing the crypto exchange's collapse, per Bloomberg. Sam Bankman-Fried's ex-roommate Nishad Singh could become the 3rd top FTX exec to cut a deal. Prosecutors hope Singh will shed light on Bankman-Fried's political donations, per Bloomberg. He worked as an engineer at Facebook before joining FTX, according to a LinkedIn profile that has now been taken down. Read more: FTX fraud investigators are digging deeper into Sam Bankman-Fried's inner circle – and reportedly have ex-engineer Nishad Singh in their sights

☆ FTX fraud investigators are digging deeper into Sam Bankman-Fried's inner circle – and reportedly have ex-engineer Nishad Singh in their sights
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

They're currently scrutinizing former FTX engineer Nishad Singh, people familiar with the matter said. Singh first met Sam Bankman-Fried through the now-disgraced FTX founder's younger brother Gabe, who he was high school friends with. "[Former FTX chief technology officer] Gary [Wang] is scared, Nishad is ashamed and guilty," Bankman-Fried said. "It hit [Singh] hard. Read more: Everything we know about Nishad Singh, the 27-year-old former FTX exec who had an 8% stake in the crypto exchange

☆ U.S. authorities probe FTX engineer Singh -Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 5 (Reuters) - U.S. authorities are investigating the chief engineer of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, Nishad Singh, ratcheting up pressure on founder Sam Bankman-Fried's inner circle, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are also probing Singh, the report said, citing a source. A lawyer for Singh, Andrew D. Goldstein, did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The SEC and CFTC did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Lawyers for Bankman-Fried did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

☆ FTX customers filed a class-action lawsuit against the failed crypto exchange to get their lost money back
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

FTX customers filed a class-action lawsuit against the firm to claim back their money on Tuesday. Four plaintiffs filed the class-action on behalf of millions of former FTX customers saying that the firm's digital assets belong to customers and that they deserve priority access to those funds, according to the lawsuit filed in the US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. The class-action wants a declaration that FTX assets traceable to customers are not the company's property, and that Alameda assets traceable to customers should not be considered Alameda property. The lawsuit also named top FTX and Alameda Research executives including Zixiao Wang, Nishad Singh, and Caroline Ellison as defendants. Bankman-Fried was hit with eight criminal charges including fraud and money laundering in December after being arrested.

☆ FTX execs hid $8 billion in liabilities in a customer account that Bankman-Fried referred to as 'our Korean friend's account,' CFTC prosecutors allege
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-25 | by ( Laila Maidan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Alameda Research borrowed billions of dollars of customer funds from FTX exchange. The firm's liabilities were then masked under a pseudonym account on FTX. Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang have pleaded guilty to numerous counts of fraud. The lawsuit also claimed that Bankman-Fried would later refer to that account as "our Korean friend's account" and/or "the weird Korean account." Wang pleaded guilty to four counts of similar charges.

☆ Everything we know about Nishad Singh, the 27-year-old former FTX exec who had an 8% stake in the crypto exchange
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Nishad Singh was FTX's Director of Engineering and had a 7.8% stake in the crypto exchange. Singh received a $543 million loan from Alameda Research, per bankruptcy filings. Singh was FTX's director of engineering, and had a 7.8% stake in the company. Singh's nearly 8% stake, which also included FTX subsidiary FTX.US, was worth about $572 million in March of this year. A year after Singh became FTX's director of engineering, he became a steady donor for the Democratic Party.

☆ Gary Wang, the mysterious FTX cofounder, is cooperating with prosecutors. Here's what we know about the key player in the failed crypto empire.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

FTX cofounder Gary Wang was a critical player during the rise and fall of SBF's crypto empire . Throughout his time at FTX, Wang maintained a limited online presence and steered clear of media interviews, leaving the limelight to his cofounder, Sam Bankman-Fried. But at FTX, Wang was a somewhat reclusive figure, per reports. Fraud charges and guilty pleaUnlike his cofounder, Wang has largely disappeared from view since he was fired from FTX after the company's implosion. "All of the sudden that snapped into he was leaving that day, back to the US and implicitly mostly stopped working," Bankman-Fried told the news outlet.

Dec 22 (Reuters) - FTX founder and former Chief Executive Sam Bankman-Fried, who faces U.S. fraud charges over the collapse of FTX, ran his crypto empire with a number of associates. GARY WANGGary Wang co-founded FTX and Alameda Research with Bankman-Fried, and served as FTX's chief technology officer. He and Bankman-Fried met at a math camp in high school and became college roommates, Bankman-Fried wrote in a now-unavailable FTX blog. Wang worked as a software engineer at Google before co-founding FTX and Alameda, according to an archived webpage for the FTX Future Fund, the company's charitable effort. NISHAD SINGHNishad Singh was a best friend of Bankman-Fried's brother in high school, Bankman-Fried wrote in the deleted blog post.

☆ Gary Wang, the mysterious FTX cofounder, has pleaded guilty to fraud charges. Here's what we know about the key player in the failed crypto empire.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

FTX cofounder Gary Wang was a critical player during the rise and fall of SBF's crypto empire . Wang also served as FTX's former chief technology officer but kept a low profile. Wang served as the chief technology officer at FTX until the exchange collapsed in mid-November. Wang later became the chief technology officer at FTX, establishing himself as a key member of the crypto empire's inner circle. Fraud charges and guilty pleaUnlike his cofounder, Wang has largely disappeared from view since he was fired from FTX after the company's implosion.

☆ Democrats' Senate Majority PAC plans to return $3 million in donations from disgraced former FTX executives
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The pro-Democratic Senate Majority PAC plans to return $3 million in donations from former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and the crypto exchange's ex-head of engineering, Nishad Singh, the group said Tuesday. The super PAC, which spent more than $160 million supporting Democratic bids for Senate seats, received $2 million from Singh and $1 million from Bankman-Fried during the 2022 election cycle, according to Federal Election Commission records. The Democratic National Committee and the party's Senate and House campaign arms — the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee — have made similar commitments to return donations from former FTX executives. Bankman-Fried has contributed millions toward other PACs aligned with the Democratic Party, including to the House Majority PAC, Protect Our Future and Future Forward USA. Bankman-Fried also donated $6 million in April to House Majority PAC, which raises money for Democratic candidates running for the lower chamber, according to an FEC filing.

☆ How FTX founder SBF and friends quietly donated to political groups and relatives
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is led by officers of the Royal Bahamas Police force following his arrest. The disgraced CEO donated to his brother Gabe Bankman-Fried's nonprofit organization, Guarding Against Pandemics. Alameda Research donated more than $12 million to Gabe Bankman-Fried's nonprofit since late last year, according to California state campaign finance records. California state campaign finance records show Alameda donated $5 million to Guarding Against Pandemics last year and $7.1 million this year. Guarding Against Pandemics also paid political communications and media company GMMB just over $690,000 last year for advertising and production, its tax form says.

Days before FTX’s bankruptcy filing last month, co-CEO Ryan Salame told Bahamian authorities that founder Sam Bankman-Fried may have committed fraud by sending customer money from the crypto exchange to his other firm, Alameda Research. According to a filing on Wednesday tied to FTX’s bankruptcy proceedings, Salame disclosed “possible mishandling of clients’ assets” by Bankman-Fried. FTX declared bankruptcy on Nov. 11. The indictment, unsealed on Tuesday, charged Bankman-Fried with eight criminal counts related to fraud, money laundering and improper use of customer funds. Like Bankman-Fried, Salame was a significant political donor, donating $20 million to Republican causes.

☆ A top FTX exec blew the whistle on Sam Bankman-Fried's moves just 2 days before the crypto exchange's collapse
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

An FTX exec told authorities about potential illegality at the crypto exchange 2 days before its bankruptcy. He worked for Alameda between 2019 and 2021 before joining FTX Digital Markets, the crypto exchange's Bahamas division. Like Democratic Party donor Bankman-Fried, Salame has high-profile political ties: his partner is failed far-right Republican congressional candidate Michelle Bond. Bond's congressional candidate financial disclosure report showed that she received $400,000 in consulting fees from FTX Digital Markets when unsuccessfully campaigning to represent New York's 1st Congressional District. Read more: FTX's Bahamas unit paid co-CEO's MAGA Republican congressional candidate girlfriend $400,000

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried denied he was part of a secret chat group called 'Wirefraud' alongside other top FTX executives
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sam Bankman-Fried denied he was in a secret chat group called "Wirefraud" in a tweet on Monday. The former FTX CEO was arrested and charged with eight counts of fraud and conspiracy this week. Although the chat group was set up to keep communications hidden, the contents of it will become public throughout legal proceedings, AFR reported. FTX did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment about the chat group, made outside of normal working hours. Hours after Bankman-Fried denied involvement in the chat group, he was arrested by Bahamian authorities.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (2nd L) is led away handcuffed by officers of the Royal Bahamas Police Force in Nassau, Bahamas on December 13, 2022. Days before FTX's bankruptcy filing last month, co-CEO Ryan Salame told Bahamian authorities that founder Sam Bankman-Fried may have committed fraud by sending customer money from the crypto exchange to his other firm, Alameda Research. According to a filing on Wednesday tied to FTX's bankruptcy proceedings, Salame disclosed "possible mishandling of clients' assets" by Bankman-Fried. FTX declared bankruptcy on Nov. 11. Like Bankman-Fried, Salame was a significant political donor, donating $20 million to Republican causes.

☆ The SEC is bringing charges against Sam Bankman-Fried – here are the key takeaways from the filing
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The SEC has filed charges against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. It alleges that he was "orchestrating a massive, years-long fraud" by misusing customer funds. It alleges that the FTX founder violated the Securities Act by misusing customer funds for his own benefit, and hiding debts from investors. It alleges Bankman-Fried "used Alameda as his personal piggy bank to buy luxury condominiums, support political campaigns, and make private investments, among other uses." Bankman-Fried misled investors by saying "assets are fine"On November 7 – just four days before FTX filed for bankruptcy – Bankman-Fried tweeted "FTX is fine.

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