NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. government charged Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, with a host of financial crimes on Tuesday, alleging he intentionally deceived customers and investors to enrich himself and others, while playing a central role in the company’s multibillion-dollar collapse.
The 13-page indictment says that, beginning in 2019, Bankman-Fried devised “a scheme and artifice to defraud” FTX’s customers and investors, diverting their money to pay expenses and debts at his crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research, and to make lavish real estate purchases and large political donations.
Bankman-Fried was arrested Monday by Bahamian authorities at the request of the U.S. government, which charged him with eight criminal violations, ranging from wire fraud to money laundering to conspiracy to commit fraud. He was also charged with making illegal campaign contributions, a notable charge as Bankman-Fried was one of the largest political donors this year.
The charges could land Bankman-Fried in jail for decades, carrying maximum penalties of 115 years, according to Nicholas Biase, a spokesperson for U.S. prosecutors.
The criminal indictment is on top of civil charges announced earlier Tuesday by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC alleges Bankman-Fried defrauded investors and illegally used their money to buy real estate on behalf of himself and family.
U.S. authorities said they will try to claw back any of Bankman-Fried’s financial gains from the alleged scheme. They are expected to request his extradition to the U.S., although the timing of that request is unclear.
A lawyer for Bankman-Fried, Mark S. Cohen, said Tuesday he is “reviewing the charges with his legal team and considering all of his legal options.”
