A federal judge rejected Democrat megadonor Sam Bankman-Fried's attempt to have criminal charges against him thrown out, clearing the way for the cryptocurrency exchange founder to stand trial in October. (RELATED: Federal Judge Orders Trump Not To Disclose Evidence In Classified Docs Case)
Bankman-Fried, the founder of now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, is accused of stealing billions of dollars in FTX customer funds to plug losses at his hedge fund, Alameda Research, misleading investors and lenders, and illegally making contributions to U.S. political campaigns in the names of his colleagues, according to The Washington Free Beacon.
Bankman-Fried is accused of making more than 300 illegal political donations, using straw donors to direct corporate funds to campaign committees while bypassing contribution limits. More than 95 percent of Bankman-Fried's contributions went to Democrats and Democratic committees, the Washington Free Beacon reported. The crypto CEO and his cofounders at FTX gave more than $300,000 to members of the House committee that investigated the company's collapse.
The ex-billionaire has pleaded not guilty and, in May, asked U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan to dismiss 11 of the 13 fraud and conspiracy charges.
He argued that some were based on a legal theory of fraud that has been invalidated by the U.S. Supreme Court and that some were improperly brought without consent from the Bahamas, where he was arrested in December and extradited to the United States.
Judge Kaplan rejected the request, writing, โThe arguments are either moot or without merit.โ
Bankman-Fried, who gave $5 million in 2020 to a pro-Biden super PAC, visited the White House repeatedly last year, The Washington Free Beacon reported. Bankman-Fried attended a House Democrat retreat last year, where he spoke on a panel with Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif. Bankman-Fried also contributed roughly $300,000 to Democrats on the committee, which oversees the crypto industry.
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4 Comments
Victory Hooray
Democrats don’t want him tried for fraud because they are involved with his actions. Waters is a unamerican loud mouth idiot. Good for the judge. It’s about time these rich con men get jail time. Next up the Biden family. The biggest con family ever to be in the White House.
Imagine having the foresight to try to bribe those who might indict you !
Not another demon-crat breaking the law