Sam Bankman-Fried uses Alameda money for legal defense

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, better known as SBF, reportedly donated his father millions of dollars from Alameda Research to support the legal team defending him against federal allegations.

According to a March 29 Forbes article claiming people with “operational knowledge” of FTX and Alameda extended Bankman-Fried a loan from Alameda to the tune of at least $10 million in 2021, as part of a lifelong inheritance and gift tax exemption, the former FTX CEO donated the monies to his father, Joseph Bankman, a Stanford Law professor who has ceased teaching classes due to his son’s legal issues.

Former FTX CEO Bankman-Fried is represented by Mark Cohen and Christian Everdell of the law firm Cohen & Gresser, which he recruited before his December extradition to the United States.

At the time of publishing, SBF was still free on bail, although many of his court appearances since his arraignment have been on potentially reducing these terms. A judge recently restricted Bankman-Fried from using an internet-capable smartphone.

As a result of the failure of FTX and Bankman-Fried’s subsequent arrest, members of his family, including his father, mother, and close colleagues, have gotten entangled in the crypto exchange’s dilemma.

Bankman allegedly hired his counsel in January, and he and others have been identified as prospective subpoena targets in FTX’s bankruptcy case.

As a result of a superseding indictment issued by US prosecutors in February, SBF faced 12 criminal charges, which were increased to 13 on March 28 following claims that he spent $40 million to bribe a Chinese government official.

Additional allegations include fraud-related conspiracy offenses as well as wire fraud and securities fraud offenses. In December, Bankman-Fried submitted a not-guilty plea, and the trial is set to commence in October 2023.