Sam Bankman-Fried lived lavish lifestyle prior to FTX downfall

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried Fresh continued to live an extravagant life while his trading firm, Alameda Research, was facing severe financial challenges, court documents reveal.

FTX’s intricate web of spending and suspicion

Bankman-Fried was living the high life thanks to billions of dollars worth of customer funds from FTX, prosecutors allege in a fresh set of court documents.

The disgraced FTX founder and his associates indulged in extravagant spending on investments, donations, and real estate — even in the months leading up to the collapse of the crypto exchange.

Among the events Bankman-Fried enjoyed:

Meeting with President Bill Clinton in midtown Manhattan.
A dinner with the head of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.
An invitation from Anthony Scaramucci to attend a Steelers game.
A private dinner hosted by K5 Global co-founder Michael Kives, in which Hillary Clinton, singer Katy Perry, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, actor Leonardo DiCaprio, and reality star Kendall Jenner also attended.

Bankman-Fried’s social status skyrocketed at a time when his trading firm, Alameda Research, was running out of funds.

In the trial’s third week, prosecutors provided evidence, such as emails, bank statements, wire transfers and Bankman-Fried’s own notes to outline how FTX funds were purportedly used without customer permission or knowledge.

These records depicted Bankman-Fried’s attempts to expand his influence among elite circles through investments, political contributions, and donations.

To bolster their case, prosecutors enlisted forensic accountants, including an FBI agent and University of Notre Dame professor Peter Easton, who testified about tracing the expenses back to FTX customer funds.

The defense countered these claims, citing inconsistencies in whether the expenses were truly covered by customer funds and raising doubts about the accuracy of expert analyses and accounting methods.

Big spender

During the trial, prosecutors argued that FTX customer funds were utilized for investments. They presented an excerpt from the September 2022 investment Go to Source to See Full Article
Author: Ogwu Osaemezu Emmanuel

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