Sam Bankman-Fried is ARRESTED in the Bahamas after American prosecutors filed criminal charges against FTX founder

[Carolinian]

Now it looks like his girlfriend and another top FTX are flipping on SBF. He is in deep doo-doo.

 

[am1]

I don't have a problem with people investing money, whether in stocks, crypto, or any other asset, and then losing money because the asset simply lost value. That's normal risk. Like I said, I've never put money into crypto and don't plan to. But I do have a problem with the money being outright stolen or otherwise misused in contravention of laws and/or regulations.

But that is part of the risk.

 

[sponger76]

But that is part of the risk.

To me, investments rising or falling in value due to market activity is an acceptable part of the risk. Having it stolen should not be. If someone robs you on the street, do you just shrug your shoulders and say "Oh well, that is part of the risk" or do you call the police?

 

[am1]

To me, investments rising or falling in value due to market activity is an acceptable part of the risk. Having it stolen should not be. If someone robs you on the street, do you just shrug your shoulders and say "Oh well, that is part of the risk" or do you call the police?

That risk of theft is higher in the crypto world then decent stocks or money held in a bank account or invested in land.

What would one expect with such large sums of money investing in basically nothing.

 

[sponger76]

That risk of theft is higher in the crypto world then decent stocks or money held in a bank account or invested in land.

What would one expect with such large sums of money investing in basically nothing.

Like I said, I'm not invested in crypto, I personally think it's risky and silly. But just because you don't like an investment doesn't mean it's okay for people that do to get robbed in a criminal manner.

 

[am1]

Like I said, I'm not invested in crypto, I personally think it's risky and silly. But just because you don't like an investment doesn't mean it's okay for people that do to get robbed in a criminal manner.

Not ok but very possible for it to happen. All risks regardless of what kind should be considered as the roi and preserving capital is what is important.

 

[Superchief]

Now we know why he wanted to be extradited to the US. Someone posted his $250 million bail and his trial is being delayed until October. His political donations are having their impact while the victims who lost all of their money will continue to suffer.

 

[Tia]

Unfortunately having celebrities promote products must work on many people or why pay them millions over having an unknown actor promote the same. There used to be a little notice on tv commercials that the person(s) were paid actors.

No matter how much I like an athlete or other type of celebrity, I don't listen to their advice on politics, what to buy or what to invest in. Just because they can play ball, act, or sing, doesn't mean they know better than anyone else on other topics. When it comes to things that involve money, I'm smart enough to know that they're usually only hawking whatever it is because they're getting paid, not because they necessarily use it, and that they're probably not really researching it, just filming the commercial and cashing the checks. They're just people. I don't necessarily think they should be vilified, either. I'm pretty sure Brady didn't know what was really going on with FTX and probably no way he could have. Someone else told him, hey, this thing is cool, and they'll pay you to say so, and he agreed without much thought. I think it's crazy that people are trying to sue him and other "spokespeople." If you see an ad on tv for a product with some unknown actor, and you buy the product and it doesn't work, you don't go and sue the actor. You sue the company selling the product.

 

[Superchief]

Here is the news story about the plea and trial. They are currently not releasing the names of the two people who posted his $250 million bond. I haven't seen any remorse for his deeds or intentions to repay any money he stole from his investors.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/03/sam-bankman-fried-pleads-not-guilty-to-fraud-charges-in-new-york.html

 

[Tia]

Another development https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/crypto...bed-one-chinese-official-40-million-rcna76985

 

[Superchief]

Another development https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/crypto...bed-one-chinese-official-40-million-rcna76985

I still wonder why no mention has been made regarding getting back the millions of political contributions so that the investors might get some of their money back.

 

[Superchief]

Feds Drop Sam Bankman-Fried’s Campaign Finance Charges

Amr Alfiky/ReutersCampaign finance charges against fallen FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried will be dropped, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.Bankman-Fried was slapped with charges including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and campaign...

news.yahoo.com

Now we understand why he wanted to be extradited back to the US. I guess they campaign funds won't have to be returned even though they were illegally obtained. Our justice system is unbelievable.

 

[Superchief]

I think this quote from the report to be interesting. Even this crook recognizes the bias in our news media.

"Authorities had alleged Bankman-Fried used about $90 million of FTX customer deposits to donate to hundreds of political campaigns and PACs.

Bankman-Fried was a major backer of the Democratic Party, donating $46.5 million in 2022. But he also claimed to be the “second or third biggest” donor to Republicans that year.

“All my Republican donations were dark,” he told YouTuber Tiffany Fong. “The reason was not for regulatory reasons, it’s because reporters freak the f*** out if you donate to Republicans. They’re all super liberal, and I didn’t want to have that fight.”

 

[Tia]

Beyond ridiculous , very revealing about our justice system etc

 

[am1]

I think this quote from the report to be interesting. Even this crook recognizes the bias in our news media.

"Authorities had alleged Bankman-Fried used about $90 million of FTX customer deposits to donate to hundreds of political campaigns and PACs.

Bankman-Fried was a major backer of the Democratic Party, donating $46.5 million in 2022. But he also claimed to be the “second or third biggest” donor to Republicans that year.

“All my Republican donations were dark,” he told YouTuber Tiffany Fong. “The reason was not for regulatory reasons, it’s because reporters freak the f*** out if you donate to Republicans. They’re all super liberal, and I didn’t want to have that fight.”

Not political?

 

[am1]

Beyond ridiculous , very revealing about our justice system etc

And your political system? Money donated should be returned to the people it was stolen from. Not just the ones he stole from but everyone affected by the market fallout.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Beyond ridiculous , very revealing about our justice system etc

Hey now???? Aren't you glad that we have one of the best justice systems money can buy?

 

[Brett]

Hey now???? Aren't you glad that we have one of the best justice systems money can buy?

The supremes get bought over a lifetime !

 

[Superchief]

I guess making large contributions to both political parties is what I would call 'hedge fund' investing. Since he obviously will get away with this, I hope some news source will publish the names of all of the recipients of these contributions and whether any of them returned them. This is truly criminal.

 

[Superchief]

The supremes get bought over a lifetime !

Not with money that was fraudulently stolen from investors.

 

[Tia]

Hey now???? Aren't you glad that we have one of the best justice systems money can buy?

Well since it's 'one of the best justice systems money can buy' I'd be glad if I had connections to buy some justice should I need to....

 

[Superchief]

I'm surprised that I have seen no news report of this story on any major network. This is probably the biggest fraud case of all time, so you would think it would be reported. I guess his contributions are paying off. He's still out on bail and living his life while many of his investors lost a significant portion of their savings.

 

[ScoopKona]

I'm surprised that I have seen no news report of this story on any major network. This is probably the biggest fraud case of all time, so you would think it would be reported. I guess his contributions are paying off. He's still out on bail and living his life while many of his investors lost a significant portion of their savings.

I don't think it's fair to call anyone involved with crypto an investor. Gambler? Sure. And just like the lottery and Las Vegas, a handful of people make a killing.

The rest lose. Most of them lose 100%. Many find a way to lose more than 100%.

I suspect he'll get a slap on the wrist, an 18-month country-club sentence, and he'll be back still a multi-millionaire, finding a new grift in 2026/7. Look at what happened to Martin Shkreli -- and that guy killed people with his pharmacy con. But they didn't even bother to prosecute him for that. He's already out -- and still a one-percenter.

 

[Superchief]

I don't think it's fair to call anyone involved with crypto an investor. Gambler? Sure. And just like the lottery and Las Vegas, a handful of people make a killing.

The rest lose. Most of them lose 100%. Many find a way to lose more than 100%.

I suspect he'll get a slap on the wrist, an 18-month country-club sentence, and he'll be back still a multi-millionaire, finding a new grift in 2026/7. Look at what happened to Martin Shkreli -- and that guy killed people with his pharmacy con. But they didn't even bother to prosecute him for that. He's already out -- and still a one-percenter.

I agree with you about crypto. A lot of the crypto investors will now likely switch to sports gambling.

 

[Brett]

I'm surprised that I have seen no news report of this story on any major network. This is probably the biggest fraud case of all time, so you would think it would be reported. I guess his contributions are paying off. He's still out on bail and living his life while many of his investors lost a significant portion of their savings.

And why isn't this FTX cryto scammer in jail?
Ryan Salame donated over $23 million to the other political party

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/27/technology/ftx-ryan-salame-sam-bankman-fried.html

Ryan Salame, who ran FTX’s Bahamian subsidiary, was part of the close circle of advisers around Sam Bankman-Fried, the cryptocurrency exchange’s founder,