A federal indictment was unsealed Tuesday alleging widespread fraud by FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried, a day after the fallen crypto exchange operator was arrested in the Bahamas in connection with the charges.
The indictment in U.S. District Court in Manhattan charges Bankman-Fried with eight criminal counts: conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud, individual charges of securities fraud and wire fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to avoid campaign finance regulations.
Prosecutors allege in the indictment that the former billionaire was engaging in criminal activity that began as far back as 2019 and continued through last month.
Bankman-Fried deliberately and knowingly “agreed with others to defraud customers of FTX.com by misappropriating those customers’ deposits and using those deposits to pay expenses and debts of Alameda Research,” the indictment alleges.
