- XRP attorney John Deaton has suggested Joseph Bankman, father of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, may be complicit in the fraud that led to the exchange’s collapse.
- A jury recently convicted Sam Bankman-Fried on several counts, including wire fraud and money laundering, with sentencing scheduled for March 2024.
Amidst the tumultuous downfall of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, XRP lawyer John Deaton has brought to light suggestions of deeper familial entanglement in the scandal that rocked the crypto world in late 2022. The latest developments in the FTX saga involve potential fraud allegations against Joseph Bankman, father of the exchange’s founder, Sam Bankman-Fried.
A Familial Tangle in Financial Misconduct
The crypto community is still reeling from the ripples caused by the FTX debacle. In a striking turn of events, a jury found Sam Bankman-Fried guilty of multiple charges, including wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, on Thursday, November 2, 2023. With the gravity of these charges potentially leading to a sentence exceeding a century, the focus has intensified on March 28, 2024, when the founder’s fate will be officially sealed.
In the wake of this verdict, John Deaton, a prominent figure in the XRP community, has shed light on a less discussed, yet potentially significant aspect of the saga. Deaton raised questions about the involvement of Sam Bankman-Fried’s father, Joseph Bankman, in the activities that precipitated the exchange’s fall. Referencing an email that surfaced, Deaton underscored the demand made by Joseph Bankman for a higher salary from his son, which Deaton interprets as an indication of the father’s deeper involvement in the malpractices.
The legal quagmire deepened when, in September 2023, FTX’s new CEO, John J. Ray III, launched a lawsuit against the elder Bankman and his wife, Barbara Fried, over the misappropriation of millions of dollars. It appears that the parents of the embattled founder were not merely peripheral figures but may have had a more substantial role, with the patriarch of the Bankman family previously accused of diverting funds to cover his son’s legal defenses.
As the story unfolds, the FTX scandal has taken on a new dimension, intertwining personal relationships within the broader narrative of corporate malfeasance. With the FTX saga far from over, the crypto community is watching closely as the intricate web of legal and ethical issues continues to unravel, with implications that extend beyond the immediate parties to the core of governance in the crypto ecosystem.
Connect with Collin Brown on X (Twitter) for valuable market insights, frequent updates, and a touch of humor!
