The arrest of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) has provided U.S. government regulators with a way to “send a message” to the crypto industry, said a former prosecutor for the U.S. Justice Department’s Securities and Commodities Fraud unit.

Renato Mariotti told CoinDesk TV’s “First Mover” that Bankman-Fried’s media tour after the crypto exchange's failure may have contributed to his downfall, according to Mariotti. SBF was arrested in the Bahamas on Monday after the U.S. charged him with, among other things, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and campaign finance violations.

“From the DOJ’s perspective, SBF was spreading misinformation and was creating a lack of confidence in the regulators to police the market,” he said about Bankman-Fried’s string of media appearances.

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(by Fran Velasquez)