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A Manhattan judge ripped Sam Bankman-Fried as a “remorseless” scammer obsessed with political power as he sentenced the fallen crypto mogul to 25 years in prison Thursday — five months after he was found guilty of stealing more than $8 billion of funds from customers of his now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Judge Lewis Kaplan said the 32-year-old convicted fraudster “presented himself as the good guy” all in favor of “appropriate regulation of the crypto industry” — but it was just an “act.” “He did it because he wanted to be a hugely, hugely political influential person in this country,” Kaplan...

Sam Bankman-Fried's defense has filed a collection of letters from interested parties on Tuesday asking for leniency for the former FTX CEO - who is being sentenced this week. A friend of his from his MIT days said 'vegan' Bankman-Fried would be 'an asset to society' if given a lenient sentence, in the new court documents. 'Sam felt deeply for every living being, farm animals included - so much so that he adhered to a vegan diet and convinced several others in our living group to become vegan, too. He took every actionable step he could to reduce suffering,' the...

Moscow has been on a drive to replace the use of the US dollar in international trade, but there are barrels of Russian oil stuck at sea due to issues with paying in alternative currencies. Shipments of Russian Sokol grade crude oil to state-owned Indian Oil Corp, or IOC, have been delayed by payment issues, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing two sources familiar with the matter. The seller is the state-owned Russian oil company Rosneft. The problem arose because Rosneft unit selling the oil hasn't been able to open a bank account in the United Arab Emirates to receive payments...

As technology gets more sophisticated, so do scammers. As bad actors adapt to the times, cryptocurrency scams are becoming a bigger problem, duping Americans out of huge sums, the Better Business Bureau said. In its annual Scam Tracker report, the BBB said investment and cryptocurrency scams were the “riskiest” type of scam in 2023. Scammers are using people’s general lack of understanding about cryptocurrency to their advantage, the Bureau said, promising huge returns on investment for purchasing Bitcoin. One victim, who shared her story, said she came upon a cryptocurrency scam while watching a YouTube video about Bitcoin investments. People...

Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) blamed former President Trump and conservative media host Tucker Carlson for the rise in anti-Ukrainian sentiment in the House, dubbing the pair the leaders of a “pro-Putin faction” of the Republican Party. Ukraine aid has languished in the House for months as Republicans refuse to pass foreign spending without major border security reforms. Jeffries called on Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to bring a Senate bill to the floor once again on Sunday.

I imagine life can often feel pretty difficult for today’s high school students. On top of dealing with classic teenage drama like homework, hormones, pimples, parents, driving, dating, university selection, and more, students these days have to contend with a host of new challenges. They suffered long periods of brutal Covid lockdowns. Active shooter drills are a normal part of student life. And, of course, there’s the nonstop anxiety and peer pressure of social media. Plus, on top of everything else, students today have also been force-fed some pretty bizarre ideas. Classical literature, advanced mathematics, and hard sciences have taken...

The Department of Homeland Security partnered with Stanford University and other colleges to create a 'disinformation group' to censor speech leading up to the 2020 election, new emails reveal. The Election Integrity Partnership (EIP) was created in July 2020, and consisted of members from the Stanford Internet Observatory, the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public, Graphika, and the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, according to a new report from the House Judiciary Committee and released Monday evening. '[T]he federal government and universities pressured social media companies to censor true information, jokes, and political opinions,' the report said...

Critics are accusing the DOJ of sweeping additional charges against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried under the rug, after prosecutors said he would not face a second trial for campaign finance violations following his conviction last month. In a letter filed on Friday night in federal court in Manhattan, prosecutors said the 'strong public interest' in a prompt resolution of the case outweighed the benefits of a second trial. In his letter to the court, US Attorney Damian Williams noted that prosecutors introduced evidence about all of the dropped charges during Bankman-Fried's monthlong first trial, where he was found guilty on...

Sam Bankman-Fried, who was convicted last month of stealing from customers of his now-bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange, will not face a second trial on separate charges in the case, including campaign finance violations. In a letter filed on Friday night in federal court in Manhattan, prosecutors said the 'strong public interest' in a prompt resolution of their case against the 31-year-old former billionaire outweighed the benefits of a second trial. Prosecutors said that interest 'weighs particularly heavily here,' given that Bankman-Fried's scheduled March 28 sentencing will likely include orders of forfeiture and restitution for victims of his crimes.

Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, pleaded guilty to money laundering violations, the government said on Tuesday, a stunning blow to the most powerful and influential figure in the global crypto industry. Binance itself also pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $4.3 billion in fines and restitution [and much, much more]

Former FTX general counsel Can Sun, who was a key witness in the Sam Bankman-Fried trial, and former Alameda Research software developer Armani Ferrante are building a Dubai-based exchange called Backpack Exchange. Two former colleagues of recently convicted Sam Bankman-Fried are building a new crypto exchange just days after their former CEO was found guilty on seven charges of fraud. FTX’s former general counsel, Can Sun, and former Alameda Research software developer Armani Ferrante have teamed up to start Trek Labs, a Dubai-based company that recently obtained a license from the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, or VARA, which regulates digital...

A jury has found Sam Bankman-Fried guilty of all seven criminal counts against him. The former FTX CEO faces a maximum sentence of 115 years in prison. Bankman-Fried, the 31-year old son of two Stanford legal scholars and graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was convicted of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud against FTX customers and against Alameda Research lenders, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to commit commodities fraud against FTX investors, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He had pleaded not guilty to all charges. The trial, which began in early October, pitted the...

The monthlong trial of Sam Bankman-Fried wrapped up on Thursday, leaving the jury to decide the fate of the FTX founder. Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to criminal fraud charges tied to the collapse late late year of crypto exchange FTX and sister hedge fund Alameda Research. The prosecution’s key witnesses were former members of Bankman-Fried’s inner circle. A jury has found Sam Bankman-Fried guilty of all seven criminal counts against him. The former FTX CEO faces a maximum sentence of 115 years in prison. Bankman-Fried, the 31-year old son of two Stanford legal scholars and graduate of Massachusetts Institute of...

According to Breitbart, Steve Scalise (R-LA) is the driving force behind the twenty-two RINOs who have prevented Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) from clenching the House Speakership after two rounds of votes. Trump-endorsed Jordan is the clear choice of grassroots conservatives. A top House GOP aide reported, “[Constituents] are literally melting the phone lines. Some offices’ numbers are permanently busy. Thousands and thousands of people are calling their members of Congress demanding Jordan for Speaker.” (snip) In fact, thirteen of the twenty-two holdout RINOs also accepted donations from Ryan Salame – almost all of them maximum donations.The RINOs who...

Sam Bankman-Fried scheduled a number of high-profile meetings with political power-players a short time before his cryptocurrency exchange FTX collapsed. The former billionaire, 31, was set to sit down with former President Bill Clinton, New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Yasir Al Rumayyan, the head of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, shortly before his crypto empire came crashing down in November 2022. Evidence of the meetings was presented by prosecutors on Tuesday at Bankman-Fried's fraud trial in Manhattan. The former crypto whiz faces up to 115 years in prison for allegedly siphoning FTX client funds to prop up his hedge...

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a crypto licensing bill on Friday, set to take effect in July 2025. Considered California's answer to New York's "BitLicense," the Digital Financial Assets Law faced heavy industry criticism but was passed by the U.S. state's Assembly in September 2022. The law requires California's Department of Financial Protection (DFPI) and Innovation to create a regulatory framework for crypto. The framework includes a licensing regime and gives the department enforcement and rulemaking authority over the sector. The DFPI also gets an 18-month implementation period to ensure "the adopted regulatory framework can be thoughtfully tailored to address...

The suspect in the shooting of a beloved father-of-four in Portland is a futures fund manager with a weighty arrest history - who also jets around the country giving blockchain lectures at conventions. Geoffrey Edward Hammond, 46, runs Aequantium LLC, claims to be of Australian descent, and also comes from a family of entrepreneurs with a $125million fortune. For unknown reasons, Hammond also changed his named from Jeffrey Edward Mandalis in recent years, court records show. He was driving a black Mercedes Benz and stopped in front of the Moxy Hotel in Portland, blocking traffic, last week. After getting into...

Caroline Ellison, a top deputy of Sam Bankman-Fried, testified the FTX founder ordered her and others to commit criminally fraudulent acts that contributed to the collapse of the exchange last year...Ellison, a onetime romantic partner of Bankman-Fried who ran his crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research, is perhaps the most central witness for federal prosecutors. They secured her cooperation as part of a guilty plea in December...

A big part of Sam Bankman-Fried's journey to criminal court traces back to the $35 million Bahamian property he shared with nine people...The 11,500-square foot apartment overlooks the marina and the Atlantic Ocean.

Update from @SBF_FTX #SBFTrial: Questioning Gary Wang, co-founder of #FTX : Q. Did you commit financial crimes while working at FTX? A. Yes. Q. What types of crimes did you commit? A. Wire fraud, securities fraud, and commodities fraud. Q. Did you commit these crimes by yourself or with other people? A. With other people. Q. Who were the main people you committed these crimes with? A. Sam Bankman-Fried, Nishad Singh, and Caroline Ellison. Q. You're talking about Alameda Research? A. Yes. Q. Okay. We'll come back to it in a minute. When you say withdrew unlimited amounts of funds,...