FTX Founder Arrested on Fraud Charges

2022-12-14

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1
  • The United States has charged the founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX with several financial crimes.
  • 2
  • Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested Monday in the Bahamas.
  • 3
  • He had resigned as FTX chief last month, shortly after the company declared bankruptcy, or financial failure.
  • 4
  • U.S. government lawyers named eight criminal charges against the 30-year-old businessman.
  • 5
  • They include wire fraud, money laundering and conspiring to defraud.
  • 6
  • He was also charged with making illegal campaign donations.
  • 7
  • Bankman-Fried was one of the largest political donors this year.
  • 8
  • Separately, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has brought civil charges against Bankman-Fried.
  • 9
  • The SEC is the top government supervisor of the American stock market.
  • 10
  • It says Bankman-Fried defrauded investors and illegally used their money to buy homes for himself and his family.
  • 11
  • A lawyer for Bankman-Fried said Tuesday that he is examining the charges with his legal team and considering what to do.
  • 12
  • At one point, the FTX founder was thought to be one of the world's richest people.
  • 13
  • He launched the business in 2019.
  • 14
  • Forbes magazine estimated his wealth at more than $26.5 billion as the company quickly grew.
  • 15
  • FTX failed in November, when reports came out that the company and another of Bankman-Fried's, Alameda Research, did not have as much money as people thought.
  • 16
  • FTX customers flooded the company with demands to withdraw their money, but FTX could not honor the requests.
  • 17
  • It had used the money to support Alameda Research.
  • 18
  • Gary Gensler is the head of the SEC. He said Bankman-Fried lied to investors.
  • 19
  • "Sam Bankman-Fried built a house of cards on a foundation of deception while telling investors that it was one of the safest buildings in crypto."
  • 20
  • A "house of cards" means a building of very weak structure.
  • 21
  • The commission said Bankman-Fried then used the Alameda Research money to make high-risk investments, purchase homes and make donations to political campaigns.
  • 22
  • And, the SEC reports, Alameda Research did not keep track of the money coming from FTX.
  • 23
  • Bankman-Fried's arrest came just one day before he was to appear before the U.S. Congress to answer questions about FTX.
  • 24
  • Maxine Waters is a representative from California and the leader of the House Financial Services Committee.
  • 25
  • She said she was disappointed Bankman-Fried would not speak because, in her words, "the American public deserves to hear directly ... about the actions that wiped out the hard-earned life savings of so many."
  • 26
  • In recent interviews, Bankman-Fried said he did not "knowingly" misuse the money from his customers and he thinks people will eventually get their money back.
  • 27
  • The SEC's team said it does not think those statements are true.
  • 28
  • I'm Caty Weaver
  • 1
  • The United States has charged the founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX with several financial crimes.
  • 2
  • Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested Monday in the Bahamas. He had resigned as FTX chief last month, shortly after the company declared bankruptcy, or financial failure.
  • 3
  • U.S. government lawyers named eight criminal charges against the 30-year-old businessman. They include wire fraud, money laundering and conspiring to defraud. He was also charged with making illegal campaign donations.
  • 4
  • Bankman-Fried was one of the largest political donors this year.
  • 5
  • Separately, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has brought civil charges against Bankman-Fried.
  • 6
  • The SEC is the top government supervisor of the American stock market. It says Bankman-Fried defrauded investors and illegally used their money to buy homes for himself and his family.
  • 7
  • A lawyer for Bankman-Fried said Tuesday that he is examining the charges with his legal team and considering what to do.
  • 8
  • At one point, the FTX founder was thought to be one of the world's richest people. He launched the business in 2019. Forbes magazine estimated his wealth at more than $26.5 billion as the company quickly grew.
  • 9
  • FTX failed in November, when reports came out that the company and another of Bankman-Fried's, Alameda Research, did not have as much money as people thought.
  • 10
  • FTX customers flooded the company with demands to withdraw their money, but FTX could not honor the requests. It had used the money to support Alameda Research.
  • 11
  • Gary Gensler is the head of the SEC. He said Bankman-Fried lied to investors.
  • 12
  • "Sam Bankman-Fried built a house of cards on a foundation of deception while telling investors that it was one of the safest buildings in crypto." A "house of cards" means a building of very weak structure.
  • 13
  • The commission said Bankman-Fried then used the Alameda Research money to make high-risk investments, purchase homes and make donations to political campaigns.
  • 14
  • And, the SEC reports, Alameda Research did not keep track of the money coming from FTX.
  • 15
  • Bankman-Fried's arrest came just one day before he was to appear before the U.S. Congress to answer questions about FTX.
  • 16
  • Maxine Waters is a representative from California and the leader of the House Financial Services Committee. She said she was disappointed Bankman-Fried would not speak because, in her words, "the American public deserves to hear directly ... about the actions that wiped out the hard-earned life savings of so many."
  • 17
  • In recent interviews, Bankman-Fried said he did not "knowingly" misuse the money from his customers and he thinks people will eventually get their money back.
  • 18
  • The SEC's team said it does not think those statements are true.
  • 19
  • I'm Caty Weaver
  • 20
  • Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on a report by the Associated Press.
  • 21
  • ___________________________________________________________
  • 22
  • Words in This Story
  • 23
  • cryptocurrency -n. an alternative form of money that does not use banks insured by governments, instead it is kept track of only on computers
  • 24
  • wire fraud -n. the crime of stealing money electronically
  • 25
  • money laundering -n. receiving money through a criminal or corrupt act and then making it look like it came legally
  • 26
  • foundation -n. the structure that supports something built on top of it
  • 27
  • deception -n. making people think one thing but something else is the truth
  • 28
  • wipe out-v. to remove what was there before, wash away
  • 29
  • ____________________________________________________________
  • 30
  • We want to hear from you. Do you think any of the investors will get their money back?
  • 31
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