Sam Bankman-Fried Accused of Stealing Customer Funds – He Was Using Them For Political Campaign Donations

Disgraced former FTX head, Sam Bankman-Fried, has been accused by federal prosecutors of stealing customer funds to make political campaign donations.

As per a new Reuters report, Bankman-Fried allegedly used customer funds to make $100 million in political campaign contributions ahead of the 2022 U.S. midterm elections.

The amended indictment claims that the political donations were made to increase his influence and more effectively lobby Congress and regulatory agencies for rules that would benefit FTX’s business growth.

“[Bankman-Fried] leveraged this influence, in turn, to lobby Congress and regulatory agencies to support legislation and regulation he believed would make it easier for FTX to continue to accept customer deposits and grow.”

Bankman-Fried is accused by federal prosecutors of conspiring with two FTX executives to conceal the source of funds and circumvent campaign finance contribution limits.

He faces seven charges of wire fraud, securities fraud, commodities fraud, and money laundering in connection with an alleged multibillion-dollar scheme that included lying to customers and commingling their funds deposited to FTX.

Despite the dropping of a separate count on conspiracy to violate campaign finance laws, Mr. Bankman-Fried remains charged with conducting an illegal campaign finance scheme as part of the fraud and money laundering schemes originally charged.

He has pleaded not guilty, but his bail has been revoked, and he is now in prison, following allegations that he attempted to tamper with a witness. His trial is scheduled for Oct. 2.

Not too long ago, we revealed the fct that US marshals handcuffed him and accompanied him out of the courtroom. Bankman-Fried is facing allegations of orchestrating a multibillion-dollar fraud scheme, where he supposedly deceived customers and mixed together the funds they deposited into FTX.

He had been out on bail, staying at his parent’s home in Palo Alto, California, after being arrested in December. However, federal prosecutors requested that his bail be revoked and that he be put in detention.