Sam BankmanFried Family Deeply Involved in 100 Million Political Donation Campaign Revealed Wall Street Journal

CoinDesk Report:
Sam Bankman Fried, the founder of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, who was once hailed as the “poster boy” of cryptocurrency, has been embroiled in a scandal involving misuse of company assets for political donations worth billions of dollars.
Emails uncovered by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) suggest extensive involvement of this convicted executive’s family, potentially leading to legal disputes.
SBF and family facing more legal troubles
Emails recently revealed by The Wall Street Journal show that SBF’s family managed over $100 million in political donations, reportedly extracted from FTX customer funds, to influence the 2022 elections, sparking concerns about potential legal action.
These emails detail SBF’s father Joe Bankman advising on financial strategies related to political donations, with evidence indicating his direct involvement in illicit activities. SBF’s mother Barbara Fried and brother Gabriel Bankman Fried are also said to be managing funds for various political causes.
Barbara happens to be the co-founder of the super PAC Mind the Gap, claiming to have directed funds towards progressive groups, while Gabriel focuses on pandemic prevention efforts.
Former Federal Election Commission chairman David Mason stated that Joe Bankman’s involvement could lead to legal liabilities under campaign finance regulations, citing “strong evidence” that he was aware of the illegal straw donor scheme.
Nevertheless, a spokesperson for SBF’s father, a Stanford Law School professor, insisted, “There is no knowledge of any so-called campaign finance violations.”
Role of FTX executives in political donation fraud
The WSJ report also implicates former FTX executives Ryan Salame and Nishad Singh, along with the entire Bankman Fried family, in a political donation scheme.
Both individuals have admitted to participating in an illegal straw donor conspiracy. Prosecutors allege that Salame funneled funds to Republican candidates to conceal their ties to Bankman Fried, while Singh supported liberal candidates.
As previously reported, Salame, who served as the co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison and three years of supervised release. He was ordered to forfeit $6 million and provide over $5 million in restitution.