At some point, Sam Bankman-Fried was one of the most popular names in crypto. He was the founder of the cryptocurrency company FTX. However, he was later faced with several charges, including wire fraud, securities fraud, money laundering, and commodities fraud.
The court found him guilty on seven of the charges against him—however, the U.S. government decided to drop the charges against Sam for campaign fraud. Some people are upset about the government’s decisions.
Sam Bankman-Fried’s Meteoric Rise to Fame
When Sam Bankman-Fried first made headlines, it was because of the success story of his crypto company, FTX. Since then, he has been in the news for various reasons, including fraud.
In November 2022, Sam’s company went under because of alleged illegal activities. He went from being held in so much high esteem to making court appearances surrounded by the police.
Guilty on Seven Counts
Initially, Sam was charged with seven different crimes. However, he was found guilty of conspiracy, fraud, and money laundering.
Also, in August 2023, Sam bagged an eighth charge for campaign finance fraud. According to government officials, the former self-acclaimed “crypto-king” illegally contributed $100 million to politicians’ campaigns in 2022.
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Sam Donated to Several Politicians
According to Time magazine, Sam was one of the top contributors to several campaigns. He contributed up to $5.2 million to President Joe Biden’s campaign in 2020.
Additionally, Sam gave over $5,800 to several members of Congress, including John Boozman and Debbie Stabenow. However, official court documents show that Sam sent about $20,000 to Stabenow from his personal account.
His Donation to Campaigns Totalled Over $70 Million
Sam spent over $70 million in contributions to election campaigns. There are even claims that he could have contributed more than $80 million.
The government said that it’s not illegal to contribute to political campaigns. However, it was unlawful for Sam to give contributions from his clients’ money under pseudonyms. This raised a lot of government eyebrows.
Government’s Shocking Announcement
However, on December 29, 2023, the Federal prosecutors made a shocking statement. They said, “The Government has concluded that the public interest in a prompt resolution of this matter outweighs the interest in holding a separate trial.”
This simply means that the government would drop the campaign fraud charges completely. So, while Sam still waits to be sentenced for the other seven charges he was found guilty of, he no longer has to worry about facing any punishment for campaign fraud.
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Was Not Pleased With The U.S. Government’s Announcement
However, the U.S. Government’s decision to drop the charges against Sam has sparked a lot of outrage around the world. Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reacted to the announcement with a post on X (formerly known as Twitter).
He wrote, “No one is even surprised. THAT is a bigger problem than the fraud itself. It shows how normalized corruption has become.”
The Announcement Sparked A Lot of Questions
Just like Robert F. Kennedy commented about corruption in the U.S. government, many Americans are also curious about why the government dropped some of the charges against Sam, especially since the court had already found him guilty of seven other similar crimes.
According to the prosecutors, they couldn’t make the charges stick because they didn’t get the correct permissions from the Bahamian government when they extradited Sam Bankman-Fried. However, not everyone is buying that story. Many people believe that there’s a more deep-seated conspiracy at play.
Suspicion of Corruption
One of the main reasons many Americans and other people following the case around the world feel something is amiss is how Sam’s case was handled. Several congressmen and women he donated to during their campaigns were instrumental in dismissing the charges against him.
Many people like Robert F. Kennedy feel like the only reason charges were dropped against Sam was because the politicians he helped out during election season were simply returning the favor.
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Other Popular Americans Also Reacted
Furthermore, popular social media personality and political commentator Collin Rugg also took to social media to share his thoughts on the interesting turn of events.
Rugg posted on X saying, “JUST IN: The U.S. government is dropping six charges against crypto scammer Sam Bankman-Fried including campaign finance violations and conspiracy to commit bribery charges. Making bribes with stolen money is fine as long as that money is going to U.S. politicians. SBF donated $100 million during the 2022 midterms, pouring tens of millions into dark money groups with customers’ funds.”
Campaign Finance Fraud Isn’t New in America
This isn’t his first case of campaign finance fraud. Former Federal Election Commission enforcement lawyer Saurav Ghosh explained in a recent interview that campaign finance fraud is something that happens all the time.
Over the years, wealthy individuals allegedly donate huge sums of money to politicians under aliases in local and national elections. Also, some are doing this regularly with funds they obtained illegally.
What Will Happen to Sam Bankman-Fried?
So, Sam Bankman-Fried’s future still remains largely undecided. However, on March 28, 2024, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan is set to deliver his sentence for his seven guilty verdicts.
Although he won’t be going down for campaign finance fraud, many people are still happy that the once famous crypto-king will serve a lengthy sentence in jail for his crimes. This gives them enough comfort and confidence in the justice system.
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