Comments
OmarLittleFinger t1_j9pgx2h wrote
Effective Altruism, finding more ways to line politicians pockets.
spatenfloot OP t1_j9ph8iy wrote
Yes, and it shows why fraud and financial misdeeds are not effectively prosecuted. He, like many companies, donated to politicians of both parties.
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CherenkovLight t1_j9pijlv wrote
Oh man, he might have to spend less then a year in prison for this
Flatline2962 t1_j9pki15 wrote
Effective Altruism and longtermism is a weird alloy that functions as the new conscience salve for obscenely wealthy people.
The argument that they need to hoard wealth because the more wealth they hoard the better they can act for humanity, but that the results can't be judged on any one given lifetime and instead can only be reflected on hundreds or thousands of years down the line is an awfully convenient story to tell yourself if you are a shitheel wealthy person.
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wildbill88 t1_j9plqfx wrote
This guy fucked up campaign finances...but they can't figure out how santos did it...? Trump?....any other actual politician....?
sloppyredditor t1_j9pme9t wrote
>From at least in or about 2019, up to and including in or about November 2022, SAMUEL BANKMAN-FRIED, a/k/a "SBF," the defendant, corrupted the operations of the cryptocurrency companies he founded and controlled-including FTX.com ("FTX") and Alameda Research ("Alameda")-through a pattern of fraudulent schemes that victimized FTX customers, investors, financial institutions, lenders, and the Federal Election Commission ("FEC").
>
>Exploiting the trust that FTX customers placed in him and his exchange, BANKMAN-FRIED stole FTX customer deposits, and used billions of dollars in stolen funds for a variety of purposes, including, among other things, to support the operations and investments of FTX and Alameda; to fund speculative venture investments; to make charitable contributions; to enrich himself; and to try to purchase influence over cryptocurrency regulation in Washington, D.C. by steering tens of millions of dollars of illegal campaign contributions to both Democrats and Republicans.
Direct link to new indictment for those curious. Given the big celebrity ads, plays on both sides of the political aisle, and mountain of evidence showing his drive to hide evidence... I sincerely hope this jackass doesn't get Epsteined.
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SheriffComey t1_j9poh5s wrote
Nah this dude is another Madoff....he fucked with other rich people's money.
[deleted] t1_j9pp4rw wrote
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submittedanonymously t1_j9psogj wrote
It will be very telling how his sentencing goes. Fraud is infuriating anyway, but rich people get off on defrauding poor people all the time. Let’s see this multi-tiered justice system and how it thinks the law applies here because I don’t think it will be satisfying anyway.
ILikeMyGrassBlue t1_j9pu3bo wrote
They do it legally, for the most part. Bribery of politicians is basically legal in the US, if you go through the right channels. You have to be astoundingly stupid to commit a campaign finance violation. There’s literally a legal way to do it, which is why most politicians/rich fucks don’t get caught for it—they do it legally. Just goes to show how dumb this guy is.
banjo_assassin t1_j9pumgv wrote
Any bets SBF has a heart attack, autopsy, and cremation with a 4 day turnaround?
Y’know, like this guy?
SomethingDumbthing20 t1_j9pxcoe wrote
And let me guess, none of the politicians that received the illicit funds will be charged with anything?
officeDrone87 t1_j9pxllk wrote
Either way the conspiracy theorists will be right. Remember how often they told us that Gislene Maxwell was going to be murdered before the trial?
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LystAP t1_j9pzdsu wrote
Yeah, and he's also not old money enough to have contacts that can help him long-term.
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LystAP t1_j9q1e1y wrote
Technically not illegal to receive the funds as long as there is 'plausible deniability', I believe; otherwise, politicians would have been charged for this kind of activity a long time ago.
FTX is only the latest grift, but this has been going on for a long time. And neither side is going to truly fix it, because they're all crooks.
spatenfloot OP t1_j9q288d wrote
They will probably even keep the money
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earhere t1_j9q3ehg wrote
George Santos and Trump are politicians, and politicians are immune from prosecution. That's why Trump announced his running for president so early, so he wouldn't be indicted by the DOJ.
Mydickradiates t1_j9q3y51 wrote
well those people are crazy
Mydickradiates t1_j9q3zt4 wrote
Santos is currently being investigated
SomethingDumbthing20 t1_j9q54tr wrote
You are definitely correct. I do find it funny that many businesses and banks have to verify and prove funds received were not illicit, but politicians don't.
Zombie_Harambe t1_j9q5cso wrote
He couldn't even make it out of bronze playing lol. I'm serious.
Villedo t1_j9q7l0g wrote
Dude looks like and talks like a pedophile. Wouldn’t be surprised is he turned out to be one.
LTQLD t1_j9qavbz wrote
How do they move so fast on such indictments for this guy for campaign finance violations but at glacial speeds for politicians?
Eeeegah t1_j9qb7fs wrote
Oh, no! Not the dreaded campaign violation! Why, he could get a mild slap on the wrist for this.
AnwaAnduril t1_j9qc5yl wrote
The rich do not go to jail. House arrest at most.
Projectrage t1_j9qd9yj wrote
He was one of the largest contributor to Biden’s campaign, but somehow that’s not mentioned.
tipsup t1_j9qdy3h wrote
He remains out on bond.
Aircooled6 t1_j9qe3uz wrote
He must make his parents so proud. I mean they are Tax Lawyers.
stewpidazzol t1_j9qed4g wrote
I’m sure the politicians that accepted this money have graciously decided to pay it back
nexusjuan t1_j9qf6d1 wrote
Epstein didn't kill himself
Trexfromouterspace t1_j9qj36w wrote
> rich people get off on defrauding poor people all the time
Yes, but what does this have to do with sentencing?
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officeDrone87 t1_j9qnt1r wrote
That's why it's best to just ignore conspiracy theorists. They will just move the goalposts when they're wrong
BoldestKobold t1_j9qpb16 wrote
Any evidence that contradicts a conspiracy theory is always taken as evidence supporting the theory.
"That's because that is what they want you to think!"
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jpiro t1_j9qpzqu wrote
The one time when "BOTH SIDES!" would actually be appropriate, and you whiffed.
"The campaign "involved flooding the political system with tens of millions of dollars in illegal contributions to both Democrats and Republicans made in the names of others in order to obscure the true source of the money and evade federal election law," the indictment states."
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Projectrage t1_j9qrcu3 wrote
He was a major …major donor to the Democratic Party, he then gave 500,000 right before he filed for bankruptcy. Probably to get him out of his situation…or say he played both sides.
https://www.politico.com/amp/news/2023/02/02/sam-bankman-fried-republican-governors-00080946
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yzlautum t1_j9qsmnx wrote
He is on a $250,000,000.00 bond. That is the largest bond I have ever fucking heard of. Not many people have $25,000,000.00 in cash money to do that. And he isn’t a flight risk. He and his family are not criminal masterminds and he has the FBI surveilling him 24/7.
jpiro t1_j9qsmvc wrote
Lol, the article you posted isn't even about a donation from Bankman-Fried. It's from another FTX co-founder who's a major GOP donor.
sedition- t1_j9qtiir wrote
Reminds me of that stupid sitcom lady that jumped through all those hoops to get her moron daughter into college, when all she needed to do was write a fat check to the school in the form of a donation instead of breaking like a dozen different laws by doing it her way.
Overweighover t1_j9qwrcq wrote
She didn't flip
donny02 t1_j9qwsw6 wrote
Yeah but the gap between her checks and donation checks are a few zeros apart.
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Freedom-Lover-4564 t1_j9qx299 wrote
And one parent is a professor of ethics, and co-founder of a super PAC. Funny business for sure.
Freedom-Lover-4564 t1_j9qxhn7 wrote
Oregon Democrat Party refuses to return over a half million dollars that it received.
BCCMNV t1_j9qxwu9 wrote
That’s not even accidental campaign violations.
stewpidazzol t1_j9qy2nb wrote
No way??? They kept it. Shocker!
Boollish t1_j9qy4vv wrote
Effective Altruism is just tech bros thinking biggest problem with the uncaring boot of capitalism is the tech bros aren't wearing the boot.
Tackleberry06 t1_j9qy6yz wrote
Scape-goat 101. “We do not know that guy”
Boollish t1_j9qywxg wrote
I mean, the total collateral actually put up is in the neighborhood of $2M.
He's a tremendous flight risk and it's a joke that he isn't incarcerated. He's stolen billions from customers, why would he care about forfeiting his parents' house? The entire family is gonna find a way to end up somewhere in the ME or somewhere equally comfortable for billionaires that won't extradite.
In another sub I made this comparison. Carlos Ghosn, accused of $100M fraud, was able to board public transit and flee Japan while under 24/7 surveillance. The FTX fraud is 100x the size. He's gonna find a way to skip town and access his stolen crypto.
ChalupaCabre t1_j9qzs89 wrote
You mean standard big business expenses….
Until someone gets their books TRULY audited, then OMG, I can’t believe it’s not butter!!
Kevin_Wolf t1_j9r0mb2 wrote
That bank man is getting fried.
BCCMNV t1_j9r0pla wrote
He organized funneling stolen money to political campaigns using straw donors.
They’re running this one by the books. This is why the FEC had to request that any recipients return the money, because it was illegally obtained.
This might go down as the biggest financial shit show in history in terms of impacts. Enrons blast radius was largely isolated to retirements. Madoff was isolated to investors.
This is a whole new level of fuck up.
ClubsBabySeal t1_j9r1017 wrote
No he isn't, he's incompetent at crime. If he tries he's not getting far, and I doubt he'll try. He seems to think he can talk his way out of it. Fucking delusional.
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gnitiwrdrawkcab t1_j9r4j7s wrote
Exactly. Felicity Huffman had just enough money to pay for USC, but not donate a building to get her dumb children in.
So she did the next best thing, got a guaranteed admission by cheating.
lesChaps t1_j9r5f26 wrote
>The new charges raised the prison sentence Bankman-Fried could face if convicted from 115 years to 155 years, authorities said.
https://www.chron.com/business/article/ftx-founder-faces-new-charges-in-rewritten-17801248.php
40 years is a pretty hard slap.
NewKitchenFixtures t1_j9r62p5 wrote
Most estimates I’ve seen expect 22ish (assuming good behavior and the like) years unless the judge decides the give him 200 sequential. But he probably has to try to make that happen.
Martin Skrelli the pharma bro hilariously ran through federal sentencing rules with respect to FTX.
OpeningOnion7248 t1_j9r6jd4 wrote
Never understood why such a brilliant guy with top notch legal academic parents could be so stupid.
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Omophorus t1_j9ra4yq wrote
The rich do not go to jail... unless they fuck with other rich peoples' money.
SBF did that in spades.
And left a paper trail.
Dude's goose is cooked.
Zombie_Harambe t1_j9razy1 wrote
Scam bank fraud man
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0dyss3us t1_j9rbq7y wrote
Kudos on the great wordplay, too bad it went over most people’s heads
oldvlognewtricks t1_j9rbutz wrote
Because he’s not actually brilliant.
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OpeningOnion7248 t1_j9rcob3 wrote
Well, there an evil genius or laziness about him. I can’t know. But yeah, scumbag city.
a-c-moore t1_j9rd8g2 wrote
It's interesting to see the journey it has been on.
I first heard about effective altruism years ago when the basic idea was that the most helpful thing you could do was to take a super high paying job, live like a pauper on the lowest budget possible, and donate most of what you earned. The idea was to use hard data related to outcomes to choose the most effective places to donate, rather than just relying on what gave you a warm fuzzy. I thought it was kind of an interesting idea.
Since then it seems like it has become downright cultish. I also saw some EA leader guy talking about how the most effective thing to do with philanthropy money was to give it to rich people because they new how to spend it to create economic activity and jobs, so I guess this snake has now reached all the way around to eat its own tail and we ended up right back at "trickle down" economics somehow.
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yappledapple t1_j9rfe3t wrote
He thought he was a part of Wall Street, instead he was set up to take the fall.
January 26, 2021 Kenneth Griffin and Steve Cohen bail out Gabe Plotkin, to the tune of $2.8 billion after the rise of GME.
https://decrypt.co/55629/you-can-now-trade-gamestop-futures-on-ftx
He announced the GameStop token on Twitter at 4:58 a m. on January 27, 2021.
At 5:12 a.m. Gabe Plotkin claimed to close his short position.
By January 28th GME peaked.
The price of GME plummeted after the release of the token, that was supposed to be backed by shares. As we now know, it was nothing more than a ponzi scheme.
Reddit investors knew Melvin Capital ( Gabe Plotkins hedge fund), simply covered his position using synthetics, but didn't close.
May 18, 2022 Melvin Capital declares bankruptcy.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/former-hedge-fund-giant-melvin-202818623.html
It's a simplistic version of what happened, and there are several other big players involved.
Hopefully my watered down version makes sense to readers that haven't followed the story, and why investors refuse to sell. Wall Street is nothing more than a Ponzi scheme.
Jerrymoviefan3 t1_j9rj290 wrote
The new FTX management has already sent claw back letters to get the political donations returned. Some will presumably be returned within a few months but there is a good chance that the bankruptcy court will need take action to get most of the money back. The vast majority of the money will eventually be returned but it could take years.
Jerrymoviefan3 t1_j9rj9c9 wrote
No he wasn’t since you can only give a relatively trivial amount to an actual campaign organization.
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IndieComic-Man t1_j9rkjea wrote
“Sheeeiiiiit, I’ll take anybody’s money if they just giving it away!”-Clay Davis
thebigbail t1_j9rqkdj wrote
Climate change what?
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APsWhoopinRoom t1_j9rso75 wrote
Isn't that most white collar crime though?
Eeeegah t1_j9rtgh2 wrote
I'm skeptical. Call me when he sees the inside of a jail cell.
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carlspakkler t1_j9rydp0 wrote
Yeah, definitely.
This asshole lives his life like no rules ever apply to him. He is the definition of a flight risk.
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crackhousebob t1_j9s0ks0 wrote
He will probably get a plea deal. Elizabeth Holmes showed pleading not guilty ain't gonna fly.
JakeArvizu t1_j9s1vm4 wrote
She probably didn't have fat check for a donation kind of money. Dr. Dre donated something like 70M.
She should have just done the standard rich people thing. Just "homeschool" your kid and fake the grades with private tutors or send them to one of those fancy academies where it's essentially the same thing. She was just to lazy for even that.
JakeArvizu t1_j9s271u wrote
Sure I'll bet you that he doesn't lol. He's just going to Jail. Not everything is a conspiracy. He's a dumbass with a lot of money, not part of some backroom cabal of elite.
JakeArvizu t1_j9s2bqc wrote
Nothing about him seems evil or genius. Just a plane old boring dumbass
Not_invented-Here t1_j9s2oue wrote
Arrogance and ego can massively nerf intelligence.
racinreaver t1_j9s5x7v wrote
Who's getting fucked in this other than folks that used FTX or Alameda?
Enron's fuckery also fucked millions across the country as they manipulated energy markets, btw.
ControlledSingular t1_j9s8ic6 wrote
I too think that the biggest problem with the booties of capitalism is that i am not wearing them!
OpeningOnion7248 t1_j9s913e wrote
lol. The dude went to MIT and was a math wizard. That said, he built FTX and it was a money machine.
He goofed it up. Had he built a structure with proper controls and departments and corporate governance, then it would have a different outcome
OpeningOnion7248 t1_j9s9bfa wrote
I agree that was a large part and thinking he could do whatever.
He was a massive barrel of dicks. Now he may do a couple of decades sleeping in a cage.
JakeArvizu t1_j9sagmh wrote
> was a math wizard.
And you know that how?
banjo_assassin t1_j9sgzi6 wrote
You seriously think at that level there’s no back room cabal that he’s pissed off? I was sorta kidding about ken, just really commenting about the repercussions of fucking with money at that level
Edit: I do see him as the Charlie Manson of crypto though, far as conspiracy goes
OpeningOnion7248 t1_j9shqaj wrote
Reporting from various sources. Look, I can care less. him and his girlfriend Caroline were math nerds.
nDQ9UeOr t1_j9si3n2 wrote
Grades won’t get you into those schools. Everyone else has the grades, too. It’s barely part of the selection criteria now.
hypersonic18 t1_j9sli90 wrote
Ehh, Elizabeth Holmes is still fine and what she did is pretty similar to SBF
JakeArvizu t1_j9slute wrote
Being a math nerd and being considered exceptionally brilliant or a leader in your field are two completely different things. He was no renown scientist, mathematician regarded researcher. He was a dude who went to MIT. Hell his parents were mega rich and politically connected he coulda got in connections for all we know.
It's no difference than Elizabeth Holmes, being smart enough to go to Stanford and being a medically brilliant are completely different. Hence why her professor is literally the one who called her on her bullshit, those are brilliant people.
OpeningOnion7248 t1_j9sndhc wrote
Holmes was a special type of villain. She dropped out of Stanford after bullshitting investors
FTX dude was just a crook
JakeArvizu t1_j9snq7o wrote
Yes but to label him a math wizard is factitious. That's exactly what leads to these scenarios in the first place. Putting these people on some pedestal, with what actual proof or evidence? Because he got a degree from MIT.
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OpeningOnion7248 t1_j9so8w3 wrote
He got a degree in physics and minored in math from MIT. It’s arguably the top STEM school in the world. Maybe he thought he was invincible.
His one time girlfriend Caroline, said you only needed basic math to run FTX.
JakeArvizu t1_j9srzhz wrote
Yeah and Trump went to Wharton one of the top business schools in the world.
OpeningOnion7248 t1_j9ss2ju wrote
Trump went to Penn and majored in Econ. Not business. He’s a scumbag too
JakeArvizu t1_j9ssyca wrote
Wharton is Penn's School of Business. Okay would you say he's an economic genius? No lol.
Somadis t1_j9sz65u wrote
He’s still walking around free until the end of the year lol.
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Trexfromouterspace t1_j9tnhu9 wrote
To be fair, I did shamelessly steal it from The Onion
OpeningOnion7248 t1_j9txmwg wrote
Actually his degree is in real estate. He didn’t get a MBA
He’s a developer that took over and expanded his father business.
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TheCatapult t1_j9u80l9 wrote
My understanding is that his intention was to fund campaigns that were against regulating crypto. That isn’t really a party line issue and obviously is self serving, not ideological.
The only interesting part is that the funding of Republicans was much more obscured than the funding of Democrats.
JakeArvizu t1_j9ucqpe wrote
How is that relevant to my response? I said since Trump got a degree in economics from arguably the top business school in the country does that make him a brilliant economist?
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OpeningOnion7248 t1_j9uf9ki wrote
He got a degree in real estate. A bachelor of science.
I’m not really seeing what you’re arguing here. It doesn’t matter if he’s an economic genius.
By the way he spent 2-years at Fordham and the transferred to Penn. I believe he was anthropology major at Fordham.
submittedanonymously t1_j9ul9zd wrote
It took me way too long to get it… i’m ashamed and that was great
JakeArvizu t1_j9unrng wrote
> He got a degree in real estate. A bachelor of science.
He literally didn't. He got a B.S in Economics. The PDF straight from Penn's graduation catalog shows that. Source
I am saying by your logic. If the only proof that SBF was a brilliant mathematics wizard is that he went to MIT, then Trump is an economic genius in the likes of Paul Krugman. I don't believe that. Again who is to say he even got into MIT being a genius and not because he was a rich politically connected kid.
Centralredditfan t1_j9upcox wrote
Too bad it makes no difference whatsoever.
OpeningOnion7248 t1_j9urljw wrote
I’m not sure why you’re conflating both.
In this Philly Mag article it states he earned a degree BS in real estate by Ron Ozio media director at Penn.
All graduates from Penn Wharton get a Bachelors is Science in Economics. Trump concentrated in real estate.
https://www.phillymag.com/news/2019/09/14/donald-trump-at-wharton-university-of-pennsylvania/
Long paragraph above Mystery #1
JakeArvizu t1_j9utzk2 wrote
>I’m not sure why you’re conflating both
Because it's the same premise.
Going to an extremely prestigious school means you are exceptionally brilliant in your field.
SBF with MIT.
Trump with Wharton.
Also okay so yes he got a B.S in Economics with a focus in Real Estate. Split hairs if you want that's still not arguing against the premise.
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OpeningOnion7248 t1_j9uye0c wrote
The difference is that SBF completed a degree in physics and mathematics. I don’t know about you, but MIT is a difficult school to get admitted, attend, and complete.
Wharton would accept about 40% of applicants in the mid 1960s when he attended. Today it about 7%. Plus he transferred with help of a family friend from Fordham.
So, in the academic achievement field of both, SBF may have an edge over DJT.
Your statement about what said is incorrect. Don’t conflate both arguments.
Both went graduated from prestigious unis and both are alleged to have committed crime or in the process of being investigated.
So, what?
SBF created a crypto exchange. I think that’s difficult to do. Made billions and was allegedly found to be committing irregularities where he’s now being investigated and indicted.
DJT made a lot of money in land and hotel development and got elected president. Both are hard to do.
Who knows if their prestigious degrees led them or helped or caused their success or downfall.
Many of the graduates do similar things in life after graduating from or attending prestigious unis. Some don’t finish, like Bill Gates and Harvard.
Obama went to Columbia and Harvard Law and he became president.
Putin attended Saint Petersburg Mining University, Sgoil 281 (whatever that is). And, there you go.
A degree is not pedigree but it opens opportunities for some.
trout_or_dare t1_j9v066w wrote
Bruh you're not going to make those gme losses back just take the L and go touch grass. That's what I did after my 1k loss on that garbage stock.
JakeArvizu t1_j9v0gax wrote
>A degree is not pedigree but it opens opportunities for some.
What does that have to do with anything I said. SBF created a literal scam. Do you know if he programmed FTX? Did he come up with trading algorithms? You do know there was an entire team that was part of FTX he was the CEO doesn't mean he was literally the one who created the website or backend. Did he revolutionize programming like John Carmack.
Your literal only assertion for him being a mathematical genius is that he got a degree from MIT. We already know his parents are mega rich and politically connected. You don't think that could have played a part in him getting accepted to one of the most prestigious schools in the world. That's what my claim is. The dude talks like an absolute idiot and traded like an absolute idiot. Anything quantifiable beyond "he went to MIT" doesn't portray him as a genius like say Steve Wozniak. He's just another financial fraud. Nothing about SBF comes off as a brilliant mind unless you think babbling like an idiot does.
OpeningOnion7248 t1_j9v4r3u wrote
His parents are professor of law at Stanford. Wozniak is Cal Berkeley grad.
Maybe his parent helped him get into MIT by getting him prepared for that like prep school and other activities.
That he babbles or doesn’t code is really not relevant.
[deleted] t1_j9wdfbh wrote
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[deleted] t1_j9xrr7g wrote
True facts about the government
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The_Drizzle_Returns t1_ja26s6k wrote
I know this is a joke but the guy is likely already facing a sentence of 20-30 years minimum already. The campaign finance violations may only add a few years onto that when its all said and done.
spatenfloot OP t1_j9pg8mq wrote
from the article:
" The donations were made with money from Alameda bank accounts
including FTX customers funds that were then transferred to the straw
donors’ personal accounts that made the contributions. The outgoing
transfers were concealed in internal company records as expenses or
loans to those executives. "