Disgraced FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Faces Additional Criminal Charges

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX exchange and Alameda Research trading firm, is facing four additional criminal charges of conspiracy contained in a superseding indictment unsealed on Thursday. The new charges include conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transfer business.

Bankman-Fried now faces a total of 12 charges since the collapse of FTX. The new filing also includes information about his political contributions as part of one of the new charges - conspiracy to make unlawful political contributions and defraud the Federal Election Commission.

According to the filing, from 2020 up to November 2022, Bankman-Fried donated more than $25,000 in a year to candidates "in the names of other persons." He also knowingly donated more than $25,000 in a year by a corporation, which exceeds the limit.

The indictment also alleges that Bankman-Fried deliberately created a fake company called North Dimension with no employees or business operations solely to open a bank account for trading purposes after an unnamed bank rejected FTX's request to open an account. Prosecutors claim he even went so far as creating a website for the fake company paid for using his credit card.

Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to eight counts of fraud and conspiracy in early January and remains free on a $250 million bond confined at his parents' house in Palo Alto, California.

The legal troubles continue for one of the richest people in crypto as he faces an increasingly complex web of accusations related to his involvement in FTX's bankruptcy and alleged fraudulent activities.