US Government Accused of Aiding FTX by Lawyer

John Deaton, founder of Deaton Law Firm, has accused the US authorities of overlooking certain illegal activities by the exchange FTX and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF).

@SBF_FTX now claims that he wasn’t aware stealing money from customers and using it for political donations was illegal. ? During his fraud trial, evidence was presented that he gave $10 million to the Biden Administration while serving as CEO of @FTX_Official. The reason he… https://t.co/SUO7BOBuCB pic.twitter.com/80ruYg7afn

— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) April 2, 2024

“Now SBF claims he didn’t know that stealing money from clients and using it for political donations was illegal. During the fraud trial, evidence was presented of a $10 million transfer to the [President] Joe Biden administration while he was CEO of the company,” he stated.

Deaton clarified that the main goal of these contributions was to “buy access” to US politicians and officials.

During the exchange’s existence, Bankman-Fried met numerous times with the chairman of the SEC Gary Gensler, as well as representatives from the CFTC, the US Treasury, and the FSCD.

SBF was even called as a witness to “testify or, better said, lie” before Congress, the lawyer noted.

“Now ask yourself why the Department of Justice closed the criminal case against SBF related to violations of campaign finance laws? The American people deserve transparency when it comes to their representatives,” Deaton emphasized.

He pointed out that anti-cryptocurrency Senator Elizabeth Warren “did not ask a single question” to Gensler about his connections with FTX and its founder.

The head of Deaton Law Firm also highlighted the possible involvement of Bankman-Fried’s parents, who allegedly received $10 million in client funds and owned luxury housing purchased with these funds. He noted that they have not yet been charged:

“Is it not because [SBF’s] parents have friends in Washington, like Warren? His mother, Barbara Fried, leads a Democratic super PAC called Mind the Gap. When Senator Warren ran for president, [FTX founder’s father] Joe Bankman helped formulate her tax plan.”

The lawyer added that Bankman-Fried’s father is “an expert in creating shell companies to avoid taxes,” citing the scheme of FTX’s subsidiaries.

Earlier, the bankrupt FTX filed a lawsuit against Bankman and Fried. The exchange intends to recover misappropriated funds and assets worth “millions of dollars” to add to the general bankruptcy estate. However, SBF’s parents’ lawyers rejected the claims, calling them unfounded.

Deaton is currently running for the US Senate and likely hopes to draw additional voter attention to the issue of “Washington insiders.”

In late March, SBF was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Following the verdict, the community deemed the sentence “too lenient,” considering the damage caused.