As Sam Bankman-Fried was returning to the United States from the Bahamas on Wednesday, a federal prosecutor announced that two of his associates had pleaded guilty to crimes connected to the demise of the crypto exchange FTX, according to a report by AP.
US Attorney Damian Williams announced on Wednesday that both Gary Wang, who co-founded FTX with Bankman-Fried, and Carolyn Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, pleaded guilty over charges of fraud.
(Photo : Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 13: Attorneys for the Southern District of New York announce the indictment of Samuel Bankman-Fried on December 13, 2022 in New York City. Bankman-Fried was the founder of the now-bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange and is alleged to have schemed to misappropriate billions of dollars of customer funds deposited with FTX.
Guilty Pleas
Williams stated that they are both working with the Southern District of New York and urged anyone else who took part in the fraud to contact his office as well.
The guilty pleas were made as Bankman-Fried was being brought to the US by US law enforcement from the Bahamas to face charges related to his involvement in FTX's collapse. He was scheduled to show up in federal court in Manhattan on Thursday.
Ellison and Wang stipulated that they would cooperate with authorities completely in exchange for leniency at sentencing if they pleaded guilty to crimes related to wire fraud, commodities fraud, and securities fraud.
Williams said that the guilty pleas and the transfer of Bankman-Fried to New York were related to an alleged fraud plan that aided in the demise of FTX and a campaign finance scheme intended to sway Washington's public policy.
Read Also: CryptoWatch: FTX's Bankman-Fried Arrested, PayPals' Cryptocurrency Transactions, and Trump's NFT
On the Way to the US
After giving up his option to contest the extradition, Bankman-Fried was headed to the US.
Following a request from the US government, the former CEO was detained by Bahamian officials last week. US prosecutors claim that he was instrumental in the swift collapse of FTX and concealed its issues from the general public and investors.
Bankman-Fried was accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission of using investor funds for personal and family real estate purchases in an unauthorized manner. The 30-year-old might serve the rest of his life in prison with these charges.
After determining that Bankman-Fried posed a flight risk, a Bahamian judge denied him bail on Friday.
He had been detained at Fox Hill Prison in the Bahamas. His lawyer will be able to petition for his release on bail once he returns to the United States.
Bankman-Fried was once among the richest persons in the world with a net worth was $32 billion. He was a well-known figure in the US who funded Democratic political campaigns.
FTX also became the world's second-largest crypto exchange until its demise.
Related Article: CryptoWatch: Bitcoin Will Rise in 2023; FTX's Impact to Employees, Best Crypto to Buy for Christmas
