FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried to enter plea deal in fraud case
Christopher Hutton
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Sam Bankman-Fried is expected to enter a plea deal in his current trial over allegations that he had engaged in fraudulent behavior with his crypto exchange FTX.
The billionaire is expected to be arraigned on Jan. 3 in Manhattan federal court, according to Reuters. He is expected to agree to the plea deal early next week. This plea agreement arrives as he also faces a class-action lawsuit from former customers desiring their crypto assets back.
Bankman-Fried appeared in court for the first time after being charged by federal courts in New York with two counts of wire fraud and six counts of conspiracy. He was ordered to pay a $250 million bail and to stay with his parents during the court proceedings by a judge. He also faces charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission over his handling of investment funds and his interactions with the partner index fund Alameda Research.
Bankman-Fried is not the only one to agree to a plea deal. His former co-founder, Zixiao “Gary” Wang, and former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison agreed to a plea deal on Dec. 21 to cooperate with prosecutors.
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The Department of Justice is investigating the hack of FTX in which someone accessed the system and stole $372 million after the company filed for bankruptcy.