In the latest attempt to protect his reputation externally from prison, former FTX Trading Ltd CEO Sam Bankman-Freed (SBF) appeared in court today, February 20, to challenge the narrative that led to his conviction on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy.
The former CEO of FTX, currently serving a 25-year sentence at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, posted a “10 Myths About Me and FTX” thread claiming that FTX was never bankrupt, that its customers were “fully recovered” with over 100% repayments, and that his trial in November 2023 was fundamentally unfair.
He even took time to address rumors of a sexual nature directed against him, which drew comparisons to the explicit nature of the sexual experiences associated with convicted fixer Jeffrey Epstein.
The truth, according to Bankman Fried, was that “there were no polycules or orgies.”
2) Myth: There was an orgy of polycules.
Truth: There were no polycules or orgies.
I’ve never had a party or taken a vacation. FTX owned the penthouse. I spent $50,000 and rented 10% of it for 6 months. My personal consumption and donations were less than and coming from my income. pic.twitter.com/jAmRJdTu2d
— SBF (@SBF_FTX) February 20
119% repayment request is heavy controversial
The main statistic that Sam Bankman Fried (informally known as SBF) used to support his claim was that FTX customers received between 119 and 143% of their original holdings.
However, skeptics take issue with this number because it appears to be calculated from the date FTX filed for bankruptcy.
Using that valuation, a customer holding 1 Bitcoin on FTX would receive approximately $17,000 in bankruptcy distributions (119% of the November 2022 valuation).
On the other hand, if that person held the same Bitcoin on another exchange, the value of that Bitcoin would be $100,000, resulting in a deficit of more than $80,000.
Bankruptcy law requires valuation in November 2022 date
Under U.S. Bankruptcy Code, claims are to be valued as of the filing date. this means In the case of FTX, the date will remain November 11, 2022, the day cryptocurrency prices plummeted due to the exchange’s bankruptcy.
John Ray III, the leader of FTX’s restructuring team who previously oversaw the liquidation of Enron, said FTX recovered between $14.7 billion and $16.5 billion in assets. The withdrawal also includes acquiring a 13.56% stake in AI company Anthropic and liquidating real estate holdings.
Under approved repayment plans, 98% of customers (i.e., customers with invoices of less than $50,000) will receive distributions within 60 days of the plan becoming effective in September 2025. Therefore, large creditors will receive distributions at different times.
Witnesses who cooperated later had their sentences reduced.toIlty please
Sam Bankman Freed’s tweet also claims:d youDr. Lewis CapraI won’t gocalled out to him, threw jailed him before trial and barred evidence of solvency from the case.
Bankman Freed was sentenced in November 2023 after a federal jury found him guilty of seven counts of fraud and conspiracy, according to court records. he will do later Get used to it He will be sentenced to 25 years in prison in March 2024.
There were also rumors of polyamory and sex parties. flying around A time of scandal. The allegations shared a similar style to the accusations against financial mogul Jeffrey Epstein, who has funded projects such as Bitcoin, according to recently released files by the Justice Department. coinbase, and blockstream, go as long as return Like in 2014.
However, Bankman-Fried’s X thread have Effectively shut down rumors of sexual misconduct.
prosecutor raised According to testimony from his ex-girlfriend and former CEO of Alameda Research, Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang (FTX co-founder), and former FTX engineering director Nishad Singh.g trAl.
Witnesses who cooperated got it Reduce punishment with Caroline get Mr. Wang was sentenced to two years in prison, to be served with supervised release, and Mr. Singh was not sentenced to prison.
Mr. Bankman Fried also argued that this cool is as follows.you are hisThe company is said to have been “hijacked” by lawyers to collect fees by concealing evidence of solvency. He also claimed to have secured a funding offer that would bridge the liquidity gap and allow withdrawals to continue.
However, court records revealed that after John Ray III took over as CEO from Bankman Freed, his team discovered that FTX’s financial records were incomplete and inaccurate.yesSystemic deficiencies in internal controls.
President Trump has ruled out presidential pardons for convicted individuals. executive He was known as a Democratic Party donor. Since SBF has been reporting on trials and convictions in public on an almost daily basis, the FTT token has also experienced rapid rises and falls.
