Samantha Bankman-Fried, The founder of the defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, who stated in November of last year that he only had $100,000 in his bank account, is getting ready for an October trial supported by an impressive group of attorneys. Yet, it is still unknown how the former millionaire would pay for his pricey defense.
Forbes discovered that Bankman-Fried used money he borrowed from FTX’s sister business to pay legal expenses out of a multimillion-dollar present he gave his father.
According to two persons with operating knowledge of both companies, Bankman-Fried sent his father, Stanford law professor Joseph Bankman, a sizeable monetary gift in 2021 when he was CEO of FTX. They claimed that a loan from Alameda Research, the exchange’s trading company, provided the funding.
Bankman-Fried is suspected of embezzling FTX client cash through Alameda before the exchange was founded in 2019. He has pled not guilty to 12 criminal allegations, including wire fraud, money laundering, and securities fraud. He also faces a charge of bribery.
According to a close source at Bankman-Fried, the company’s defense expenses will probably fall between one and ten million dollars. He said earlier this year on Substack, “I haven’t stolen any money, and I haven’t surely concealed billions. Bankman once reportedly requested his son to set aside savings, but Bankman-Fried apparently declined, according to two other persons acquainted with the family who spoke to Forbes.
It is believed that the former CEO covertly transferred almost $10 billion in customer deposits to Alameda. Between 2019 and 2022, the monies are to be used “for trading or custody on FTX,” claims a lawsuit against Nishad Singh, the business’s former chief technology officer, who this month entered a guilty plea to accusations of fraud and conspiracy. Bankman-Fried allegedly got $2.2 billion in corporate loans illegally, and this month, FTX debtors claimed $8.9 billion in client deposits are still missing.
The gift and loan, which are being publicly disclosed for the first time here, occurred in 2021 when Bankman-Fried consented to lend money to his father, according to the two persons familiar with the company’s operations. At least $10 million was received from
