to charges that he cheated investors and looted customer deposits to make lavish real estate purchases, campaign contributions to politicians, and risky trades at Alameda Research, his cryptocurrency hedge fund trading firm. His trial on federal fraud charges is scheduled to begin Oct. 3 in Manhattan.Several other former FTX executives have pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges and are cooperating with investigators.
“Bankman played a key role in perpetuating this culture of misrepresentations and gross mismanagement and helped cover up allegations that would have exposed the fraud committed by the FTX insiders,” the complaint adds. “And together, Bankman and Fried siphoned millions of dollars out of the FTX Group for their own personal benefit and their chosen pet causes. This action seeks to hold them accountable for their misconduct and recover assets for the debtors’ creditors.
Among other things, the lawsuit alleges that the couple helped orchestrate a scheme in which their son gave them a nontaxable “gift” of $10 million. The scheme involved Bankman-Fried receiving a loan from Alameda, then transferring the money to his parents. The lawsuit describes the transaction as “part of a scheme and pattern to enrich and otherwise benefit themselves.”
Fried is accused of encouraging her son and other FTX insiders to make unlawful political contributions, including to “Mind the Gap,” or MTG, a political action committee she co-founded and for which she served as president and chairwoman.