Court rejects SBF's latest release request
US Second Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the latest release request from FTX's former CEO SBF. He will have to continue to stay in jail and wait for the verdict on March 28th. Court clerk Catherine O'Hagan Wolfe said, "We have reviewed the defendant's appellant's supplemental arguments and found them unpersuasive."
Former Prosecutor Predicts 25-Year Sentence for Sam Bankman-Fried in FTX Collapse Case
Legal experts predict that Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX crypto exchange, may face a prison sentence of around 25 years for his involvement in wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Bankman-Fried faces a maximum of 115 years in prison, but former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti believes that Judge Lewis Kaplan will not be lenient when imposing the sentence. Mariotti cited Bankman-Fried's immense fraud, defiant behavior during the trial, and lying on the witness stand as reasons for a lengthy sentence. Kaplan previously revoked Bankman-Fried's $250 million bail for contacting potential witnesses against him.
Mango Markets suspect Avraham Eisenberg transferred to SBF prison, trial postponed
According to court documents, the trial of Mango Markets suspect Avraham Eisenberg, originally scheduled for December 4th of this year, has been postponed until April 8th, 2024. Eisenberg's lawyer requested the postponement after his client was "unexpectedly transferred from a New Jersey prison to the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn," where Sam Bankman-Fried has been held since his bail was revoked in August of this year. Eisenberg's lawyer also argued that they needed more time to prepare their defense due to "complex and novel legal and factual issues" as well as the government's provision of "a significant amount" of discovery material. Prosecutors, opposing the motion, argued that "the defendant committed the charged crimes alone in a single day through a unique set of financial transactions" and that the defense has had sufficient time to prepare. (The Block)
Sam Bankman-Fried Verdict: The Crypto Industry Reacts
Long-time watchers of the crypto space are mostly positive on what SBF’s conviction means for the future. But long-time critics in Congress are readying to crack down further on the industry.
Peter Schiff: CNBC is also responsible for promoting SBF and FTX scams
Peter Schiff, the Chief Economist and Global Strategist of Euro Pacific Capital, accused CNBC of biased reporting, which helped to promote the FTX scam by Sam Bankman-Fried. He believes that the media is responsible for the losses suffered by investors. Schiff criticized CNBC for treating SBF as a "god" and not scrutinizing FTX's operations. He believes that CNBC should be responsible for the losses suffered by FTX customers due to its biased promotion.
In addition, Schiff claimed that regulatory agencies and politicians were also involved in this scam. Without the help of politicians who allegedly accepted his bribes, SBF would never have been able to escape his scam. Schiff said that the "incompetence of regulatory agencies proves that the free market can do better".
Michael Saylor: The failure of SBF and FTX is “the inevitable path for the industry”
Michael Saylor, the CEO of Microstrategy, said that the failure of Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX is "an inevitable part of the industry" and this will lead to a more stable Bitcoin-based ecosystem.
XRP lawyer files fraud charges against SBF’s father
In the context of FTX founder SBF being convicted of criminal charges, XRP lawyer John Deaton raised the issue of the founder's father's involvement in improper behavior that led to the collapse of a cryptocurrency exchange in November 2022. Deaton stated that it is well known that FTX founder's father Joseph Bankman is also facing fraud charges. When asked if his parents were involved in the case, Deaton recalled the email investigation results where Joseph Bankman sought higher salaries for his son.
Alameda CEO, FTX Lianchuang and FTX engineering director have all pleaded guilty and may receive leniency for cooperating with prosecutors
On November 3rd, Caroline Ellison, CEO of Alameda Research, Gary Wang, co-founder of FTX, and Nishad Singh, FTX engineering manager, were key witnesses in the SBF trial. All three stated that SBF instructed them to help transfer billions of dollars in FTX customer funds to Alameda (an affiliated hedge fund owned 90% by SBF) for fraud.
As part of a cooperation agreement with prosecutors, these three have pleaded guilty, and cooperating witnesses typically receive leniency, especially if they help the government convict SBF. Several criminal defense attorneys following the case say that based on the testimony of Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, and Nishad Singh, they may not or have a small chance of going to jail.
Chief government prosecutor overseeing SBF cases: SBF conviction is a ‘warning’ to cryptocurrency offenders
Damian Williams, the government's chief prosecutor responsible for supervising the SBF case, stated outside the court on Thursday evening that the conviction of SBF is a "warning" to those who violate cryptocurrency laws. Williams stated that federal investigators and lawyers are "putting handcuffs on all" fraudsters and scammers. Additionally, Williams stated, "The cryptocurrency industry may be new, and participants like SBF may be new, but this type of fraud and corruption is longstanding."
Uniswap founder: “SBF guilty verdict” not worth celebrating
Uniswap founder Hayden Adam posted on social media that the "SBF guilty verdict" is not worth celebrating, as billions of dollars of user funds have been lost and the industry's reputation has suffered a huge blow. The only winners are a few law firms and various cryptocurrency opponents. Hayden Adam also quoted other comments stating that everything SBF is involved in and supports is highly centralized and looks more like something that cryptocurrencies should improve upon. SBF's so-called "effective altruism" is a clever marketing gimmick.
