The collapse of FTX and longtermism

nivek

As Above So Below

'It's a house of cards on a foundation of deception': FTX boss Sam Bankman-Fried is arrested, charged and faces extradition to U.S. after 'defrauding investors out of $1.8BN by diverting funds to privately-held crypto hedge fund'

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Sam Bankman-Fried with defrauding FTX equity investors out of $1.8 billion. The shamed cryptocurrency entrepreneur is accused of diverting funds to a privately-owned crypto hedge fun. 'We allege that Sam Bankman-Fried built a house of cards on a foundation of deception while telling investors that it was one of the safest buildings in crypto,' said SEC Chair Gary Gensler in a press release. 'The alleged fraud committed by Mr. Bankman-Fried is a clarion call to crypto platforms that they need to come into compliance with our laws.'

SEC charges shamed Sam Bankman-Fried with defrauding FTX equity investors out of

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nivek

As Above So Below

Sam Bankman-Fried's bail revoked as federal judge orders FTX founder to jail

A federal judge revoked FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried's bail during a hearing on Friday, thereby ordering him to jail. U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan revoked Bankman-Fried's bail after prosecutors argued that the FTX founder attempted to harass a key witness in the case. Bankman-Fried has been under house arrest in California since his December extradition from the Bahamas.

He pled not guilty to stealing billions in FTX customer funds to plug losses at his hedge fund Alameda Research. Bankman-Fried has been largely confined to his parents' Palo Alto, California, home. He avoided spending all the time in jail until his trial after posting a $250 million bond since his December 2022 arrest.

Prosecutors alleged the former billionaire "crossed a line" by sharing the personal writings of ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison with a New York Times reporter. Ellison — Alameda's former CEO — is expected to testify against Bankman-Fried after pleading guilty to fraud and agreeing to cooperate with prosecutors.

Bankman-Fried's attorneys argued that prosecutors mischaracterized his intentions in sharing Ellison's writings.

"In support of its theory that Mr. Bankman-Fried 'tampered' with witnesses, the Government proffers evidence that consists of innuendo, speculation and scant facts," the lawyers wrote, according to The Associated Press. "The Government’s showing is a far cry from the evidence presented in cases in this district where remand has been ordered in connection with alleged witness tampering, and in no way supports revocation of Mr. Bankman-Fried’s bail."


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Todd Feinman

Show us the satellite pics...
Well, that's a big chunk that'll take a while to digest.

In a similar vein, at least in the context of long term social planning that gives pause, I saw this today.

Schumer Says US Needs More Immigration Because Americans Are ‘Not Reproducing’

Schumer Says US Needs More Immigration Because Americans Are ‘Not Reproducing’​

DCNF - Schumer DACA Amnesty - Featured

Screenshot/Rumble

D HUTCHISONREPORTER
November 16, 20223:22 PM ET
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Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York called on Republicans Wednesday to join in passing a pathway to citizenship for “all undocumented” in the United States, citing the fact that Americans were “not reproducing.”

We have a population that is not reproducing on its own with the same level that it used to,” Schumer said during the press conference. “The only way we’re going to have a great future is if we welcome and embrace immigrants, the dreamers and all of them. Because our ultimate goal to help the dreamers but get a path to citizenship for all 11 million or however many undocumented there are here.

President Joe Biden sought to codify Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) through a federal regulation in August, while also seeking the passage of legislation that has been blocked by a Republican filibuster.
“So my message to Senate Republicans is this: Work with us,” Schumer said. “Work with us on this widely supported policy, so we can reach agreement that will protect families and strengthen our economy, just as we passed other bipartisan accomplishments, which they thought couldn’t be done. Guns, veterans, CHIPS.”

“We can get it done here. We can get it done here. If we can get ten Republicans to join us, we will get this done by the end of the year,” Schumer continued. “It’s a smart thing to do, it’s the right thing to do, it’s the moral thing to do, it’s the humane thing to do, and I want to assure everyone here we will not stop fighting till we get a fix for DACA, a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and a pathway to citizenship for all undocumented.”
President Barack Obama instituted in 2012 to cover illegal aliens who arrived as minors. The program, which has been tied up in litigation, covers about 800,000 people.
Republican attorneys general and immigration hawks threatened to sue the Trump administration if it didn’t roll back DACA, while Democratic-led states opposing any rollback of the Obama administration’s program with litigation of their own. There are at least 11.4 million illegal immigrants currently residing in the United States as of January 1, 2018, according to a Department of Homeland Security estimate.

Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate minority leader, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
 

nivek

As Above So Below

Republicans slam DOJ for dropping campaign finance charges against major Democratic donor Sam Bankman-Fried: 'So we won't know which politicians he bribed?'

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 all counts.

The additional, now dropped, charges included campaign finance violations and bribing foreign officials, which have yet to be approved by officials in the Bahamas, per the agreement that led to his extradition.

Some Republicans cried foul, noting that Bankman-Fried was a major donor to Democrats, including a reported $5.2 million infusion into President Joe Biden's 2020 campaign.

'So we won't know which politicians he bribed or who's campaigns he influenced? That collective sigh of relief you are hearing is from the DEEP STATE,' tweeted Rep. Tim Burchett, a Tennessee Republican.

The move also drew criticism from within the cryptocurrency industry, including Paul Grewal, the chief legal officer of crypto exchange Coinbase.

'I think this is a miscarriage of justice. The public interest in a public airing of charges almost always matters. Campaign finance charges are at the very top of this list,' Coinbase's chief legal officer, Paul Grewal, wrote on X.

'What politicians and others knew what and when are critical questions that deserve answers,' he added. 'Dropping this on a Friday night before a holiday only fuels public cynics about the politics of all this.'


(More on the link)

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