Software engineer helped put Sam Bankman-Fried behind bars, say prosecutors
(2024/04/03)
- Reference: 1712160008
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/04/03/cto_role_sbf_trial/
- Source link:
Crypto-crook Sam Bankman-Fried's conviction was expedited by the cooperation of the chief software engineer at his FTX crypto exchange, prosecutors have revealed.
The former darling of the cryptocurrency world was [1]sentenced to 25 years behind bars last week in what has been described as one of the largest cases of corporate fraud in US history.
Help from FTX co-founder and former Chief Technology Officer Gary Wang was a key part in speeding up the case, according to Assistant US Attorney Thane Rehn, one of the team who led the prosecution.
[2]
Wang's assistance was vital in helping investigators understand how Bankman-Fried stole billions in customer funds from the FTX exchange, according to [3]Reuters . This involved moving funds to trading outfit Alameda Research, also founded by Bankman-Fried.
[4]
[5]
"Without that [assistance], would we have found it? Probably," Rehn said. "But it would have taken a software expert weeks or even months."
Wang shared code from his laptop with the prosecution team shortly after FTX collapsed. In his testimony, he told the court that Bankman-Fried asked him to make changes to the code underpinning FTX's operations to allow Alameda to withdraw unlimited funds from the exchange.
[6]
Alameda used the funds to make bets that failed to pay off. When this was uncovered, customers started trying to withdraw their money from FTX, which drove the company into bankruptcy.
[7]FTX crypto-crook Sam Bankman-Fried gets 25 years in prison
[8]SBF likely off the hook for misplaced FTX funds after cops bust SIM swap ring
[9]FTX crypto-villain Sam Bankman-Fried convicted on all charges
[10]SBF on trial: The Python code that allegedly let Alameda hedge fund spend people's FTX deposits
Rehn highlighted the importance of the government's three main cooperating witnesses. This included Wang, former FTX engineering chief Nishad Singh, and former chief executive of Alameda Research, Caroline Ellison. All of these pleaded guilty to fraud and testified against Bankman-Fried during the trial.
The prosecution team is likely to recommend that the trial judge takes the cooperation of Wang, Singh, and Ellison into account when sentencing them.
There is no guarantee of this, given that they did not report any of the wrongdoing until investigators looked into FTX's collapse, and that Wang at least is [11]reported to have admitted committing financial crimes while working at the company.
Bankman-Fried is expected to appeal, and has denied deliberately committing crimes, instead telling [12]ABC News that FTX's insolvency was the result of "bad decisions" he made.
[13]
The affair has had a [14]knock-on effect on the wider cryptocurrency industry, especially services that did business with FTX, leading some of them to also go bust. ®
Get our [15]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/28/ftx_sbf_sentenced_25_years/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Zg3ReiDzx9FxbJkKV2C9qgAAAE8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://www.reuters.com/legal/sam-bankman-fried-prosecutor-says-coders-cooperation-sped-up-case-2024-04-02/
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zg3ReiDzx9FxbJkKV2C9qgAAAE8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Zg3ReiDzx9FxbJkKV2C9qgAAAE8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
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[7] https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/28/ftx_sbf_sentenced_25_years/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/05/sbf_off_the_hook_for/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/03/sam_bankman_fried_ftx_convicted/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/10/ftx_python_code/
[11] https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/oct/06/sam-bankman-fried-trial-crypto-fraud-day-four
[12] https://abcnews.go.com/US/ftx-founder-sam-bankman-fried-speaks-after-sentencing/story?id=108634072
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Zg3ReiDzx9FxbJkKV2C9qgAAAE8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://www.investopedia.com/what-went-wrong-with-ftx-6828447
[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
The former darling of the cryptocurrency world was [1]sentenced to 25 years behind bars last week in what has been described as one of the largest cases of corporate fraud in US history.
Help from FTX co-founder and former Chief Technology Officer Gary Wang was a key part in speeding up the case, according to Assistant US Attorney Thane Rehn, one of the team who led the prosecution.
[2]
Wang's assistance was vital in helping investigators understand how Bankman-Fried stole billions in customer funds from the FTX exchange, according to [3]Reuters . This involved moving funds to trading outfit Alameda Research, also founded by Bankman-Fried.
[4]
[5]
"Without that [assistance], would we have found it? Probably," Rehn said. "But it would have taken a software expert weeks or even months."
Wang shared code from his laptop with the prosecution team shortly after FTX collapsed. In his testimony, he told the court that Bankman-Fried asked him to make changes to the code underpinning FTX's operations to allow Alameda to withdraw unlimited funds from the exchange.
[6]
Alameda used the funds to make bets that failed to pay off. When this was uncovered, customers started trying to withdraw their money from FTX, which drove the company into bankruptcy.
[7]FTX crypto-crook Sam Bankman-Fried gets 25 years in prison
[8]SBF likely off the hook for misplaced FTX funds after cops bust SIM swap ring
[9]FTX crypto-villain Sam Bankman-Fried convicted on all charges
[10]SBF on trial: The Python code that allegedly let Alameda hedge fund spend people's FTX deposits
Rehn highlighted the importance of the government's three main cooperating witnesses. This included Wang, former FTX engineering chief Nishad Singh, and former chief executive of Alameda Research, Caroline Ellison. All of these pleaded guilty to fraud and testified against Bankman-Fried during the trial.
The prosecution team is likely to recommend that the trial judge takes the cooperation of Wang, Singh, and Ellison into account when sentencing them.
There is no guarantee of this, given that they did not report any of the wrongdoing until investigators looked into FTX's collapse, and that Wang at least is [11]reported to have admitted committing financial crimes while working at the company.
Bankman-Fried is expected to appeal, and has denied deliberately committing crimes, instead telling [12]ABC News that FTX's insolvency was the result of "bad decisions" he made.
[13]
The affair has had a [14]knock-on effect on the wider cryptocurrency industry, especially services that did business with FTX, leading some of them to also go bust. ®
Get our [15]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/28/ftx_sbf_sentenced_25_years/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Zg3ReiDzx9FxbJkKV2C9qgAAAE8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://www.reuters.com/legal/sam-bankman-fried-prosecutor-says-coders-cooperation-sped-up-case-2024-04-02/
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zg3ReiDzx9FxbJkKV2C9qgAAAE8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Zg3ReiDzx9FxbJkKV2C9qgAAAE8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zg3ReiDzx9FxbJkKV2C9qgAAAE8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/28/ftx_sbf_sentenced_25_years/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/05/sbf_off_the_hook_for/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/03/sam_bankman_fried_ftx_convicted/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/10/ftx_python_code/
[11] https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/oct/06/sam-bankman-fried-trial-crypto-fraud-day-four
[12] https://abcnews.go.com/US/ftx-founder-sam-bankman-fried-speaks-after-sentencing/story?id=108634072
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Zg3ReiDzx9FxbJkKV2C9qgAAAE8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://www.investopedia.com/what-went-wrong-with-ftx-6828447
[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
denied deliberately committing crimes
John Brown (no body)
Sorry mate, but that doesn't change the result of the case. It might affect the sentence though.
Re: denied deliberately committing crimes
The Man Who Fell To Earth
He's trying to do the equivalent of what murderer's always do - trying to get their crime reclassified as manslaughter.
"I didn't mean to kill those children when I shot them. Honest."
Deliberate or not
captain veg
Well, we can dismiss that fiction straight off. Taking other people's money without their consent is theft no matter what you do with it for no matter what motivation. This isn't hard to understand by even the meanest intellect.
There's really nothing more to say on the subject.
[Edit]
Other than that I'm quite disgusted that his co-criminals can potentially get off scot-free for snitching on him. Let's hope that they all get slammed up.
-A.
FTX investigation poem
Wang sang
Singh sang too
Now SBF
is in the poo