Sam Bankman-Fried has been hit with four new criminal charges via a superseding indictment in New York federal court as U.S. prosecutors widen their criminal case against the disgraced FTX co-founder.
The added charges against the Democrat megadonor include securities fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, the Financial Times reports.
The updated indictment, released on Thursday morning, brings the total number of federal charges against the ex-billionaire to 12.
Bankman-Fried originally faced eight criminal counts in December 2022 and was extradited from the Bahamas soon afterwards, as Breitbart News reported.
Samuel Bankman-Fried departs Manhattan federal court in New York, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
According to the FT report, the new charge sheet lists evidence that appears to come from two of Bankman-Fried’s closest former colleagues, the head of FTX’s trading affiliate Alameda, Caroline Ellison, and FTX co-founder Gary Wang.
Both the latter two pleaded guilty to criminal charges in December and agreed to co-operate with U.S. prosecutors.
Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to all of the original charges. A trial date has been set for October 2023.
The 39-page document details how Bankman-Fried posted “a series of false and misleading tweets” in the days following revelations about a hole in the cryptocurrency exchange’s balance sheet in November.
It also claims Bankman-Fried sought to influence politicians by donating tens of millions of dollars to campaigns.
The new indictment was unsealed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, where Bankman-Fried was originally charged.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, in a statement on the new indictment said, “We are hard at work and will remain so until justice is done.”
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