Tag Archives: Crypto

Sam Bankman-Fried Convicted : Guilty Of FTX Fraud!

Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) has been found guilty and convicted on all counts of defrauding customers of his crypto-exchange, FTX!

Sam Bankman-Fried Convicted : Guilty Of FTX Fraud!

Sam Bankman-Fried, who is also known simply as SBF, has been found guilty on all counts of defrauding the customers of his crypto-exchange, FTX, on Thursday, 2 November 2023.

The former crypto billionaire stood and faced the jury that delivered its verdict after just four hours of deliberations. He was found guilt on all seven counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to launder money, and now faces decades in prison at a separate sentencing hearing set for 28 March 2024.

The jury verdict brought an end to nearly a month of court proceedings, which saw his closest friends and partners turn witness against the former crypto king, and one of cryptocurrency’s most public faces.

Sam Bankman-Fried perpetrated one of the biggest financial frauds in American history – a multibillion-dollar scheme designed to make him the King of Crypto. This case has always been about lying, cheating, and stealing, and we have no patience for it.

– Manhattan US Attorney Damian Williams

SBF maintained his innocence right to the end, maintaining that while he made mistakes, he acted in good faith. After his conviction, his lawyer issued this statement:

We respect the jury’s decision. But we are very disappointed with the result. Mr Bankman-Fried maintains his innocence and will continue to vigorously fight the charges against him

– Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyer, Mark Cohen

It is currently unknown if SBF plans to appeal the verdict. In any case, this won’t be the last we see of him, as Bankman-Fried is also set to go on trial on a second set of charges brought by prosecutors earlier this year, for alleged foreign bribery and bank fraud conspiracies.

Sam Bankman-Fried Conviction : Warning To Other Fraudsters

After the jury convicted SBF, Manhattan US Attorney Damian Williams warned other fraudsters to take note of his fate.

When I became US attorney, I promised we would be relentless in rooting out corruption in our financial markets. This is what relentless looks like. This case moved at lightning speed – that was not a coincidence, that was a choice.

This case is also a warning to every fraudster who thinks they’re untouchable, that their crimes are too complex for us to catch, that they are too powerful to prosecute, or that they are clever enough to talk their way out of it if caught.

Those folks should think again and cut it out. And if they don’t, I promise we’ll have enough handcuffs for all of them.

Sam Bankman-Fried Conviction : All But Guaranteed

Sam Bankman-Fried’s conviction was all but guaranteed after three of his former close friends and colleagues, including former on-off girlfriend, Caroline Ellison, pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against him in hopes of reducing their own sentences. They are to be sentenced at a later date.

They helped convict SBF by presenting evidence that the crypto-trading firm Alameda Research received deposits on behalf of FTX customers from the early days of the exchange, when traditional banks were unwilling to let it open an account.

Bankman-Fried was accused of swindling FTX customers out of some $10bn. Prosecutors said that his fraud extended from 2019 to November 2022, when FTX collapsed under the weight of a liquidity crisis, caused by the lending of customer funds to Alameda Research, without FTX customer’s knowledge or approval.

Instead of safeguarding FTX customer funds, SBF used the money to repay Alameda lenders, buy property and make investments, as well as political donations. When FTX went bankrupt in November 2022, Alameda owed it US$8 billion.

He took the money. He knew it was wrong. He did it anyway, because he thought he was smarter and better and that he could figure his way out of it.

– Assistant US Attorney Nicolas Roos

Before FTX’s collapse of his companies, Sam Bankman-Fried was known for appearing frequently in Washington and in the media to promote cryptocurrency. Despite a market downturn, the rapid growth of FTX earned him the moniker – king of crypto, which now appears to be a mirage.

Caroline Ellison testified that Sam Bankman-Fried directed her to shuttle customer funds into Alameda after the spring 2022 crypto downturn. Alameda was saddled with billions of dollars in open-term loans, and lenders started demanding their money back that summer. Alameda couldn’t repay the loans, and Bankman-Fried blamed Ellison for not hedging the fund’s money earlier that year.

Wang similarly implicated his former friend, naming “Sam Bankman-Fried, Nishad Singh and Caroline Ellison”, when the prosecution asked, “Who are the main people you committed these crimes with?”

Wang also told jurors that Sam Bankman-Fried wasn’t shocked by FTX’s massive debt. After telling him about the debt, SBF said “that sounds correct” with “a neutral demeanor”.

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SBF Accused Of Bribing Chinese Officials With $40 Mil!

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SBF has just been accused of bribing Chinese officials with “at least $40 million” to unlock frozen trading accounts in China! Here is what you need to know…

SBF Accused Of Bribing Chinese Officials With $40 Million!

Sam Bankman-Fried, better known as SBF, has just been hit with fresh charges by US officials, who accuse the crypto-preneur of authorising a bribe of “at least $40 million” (about £32.5 million) to unlock frozen trading accounts in China!

In the updated indictment (PDF download), SBF was said to have approved the $40 million bribe after Chinese authorities froze Alameda Research trading accounts that were holding roughly $1 billion or £811 million worth of cryptocurrencies.

… in or about 2021, SAMUEL BANKMAN-FRIED, a/k/a “SBF”, the defendant, authorised and directed a bribe of at least $40 million to one or more Chinese government officials.

The purpose of the bribe was to influence and induce one or more Chinese government officials to unfreeze certain Alameda trading accounts containing over $1 billion in cryptocurrency, which had been frozen by Chinese authorities.

SBF now faces a total of 13 criminal charges, including this new additional charge. He could potentially be jailed for more than 100 years if convicted.

How SBF Allegedly Bribed Chinese Officials With $40 Million!

In early 2021, Chinese authorities froze some Alameda Research accounts on two of China’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, freezing approximately $1 billion in cryptocurrency stored in those accounts.

At that time, SBF believed that the accounts were frozen as part of an ongoing investigation into another company that was trading with Alameda Research.

At least, SBF and others working for him tried “numerous methods” to unfreeze those accounts, including:

retaining lawyers in China to lobby for the Alameda accounts to be unlocked,
communicating with the Chinese cryptocurrency exchanges, and
opening new accounts on those Chinese cryptocurrency exchanges using several individuals unaffiliated with FTX (the “Fraudulent Accounts”) and then attempting to transfer cryptocurrency from the frozen accounts to those Fraudulent Accounts.

After months of failed attempts to unlock those frozen accounts, SBF and unnamed partners discussed and “ultimately agreed” to a multi million dollar bribe to unfreeze those accounts.

The indictment specifically called out SBF for authorising and directing the “illicit transfer of cryptocurrency” to “induce and influence one or more Chinese government officials to unfreeze the Accounts”.

Following SBF’s authorisation and instructions, Alameda Research employees transferred cryptocurrency worth about $40 million from the Alameda main trading account to a private cryptocurrency wallet in November 2021, after which the Accounts were unfrozen.

After confirming that the accounts were unfrozen, SBF then authorised the transfer of “additional tens of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency to complete the bribe“.

Thanks to the unfreezing of its accounts, Alameda was able to continue funding its trades, and continue what the government says was a fraud upon its customers and investors for another year.

FTX and Alameda would later implode in November 2022, with SBF arrested in December and charged with defrauding FTX customers, investors and lenders, as well as conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to make unlawful political contributions and defraud the Federal Election Commission.

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BitiCodes Scam Alert : Fake Celebrity Endorsements!

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You may have seen celebrities endorsements of BitiCodes or Biti Codes circulating on Facebook and Instagram, but they are all FAKE.

Find out why there are so many fake celebrity endorsements of Biticodes / Biti Codes, and how they are doing it!

BitiCodes / Biti Codes : Fake Celebrity Endorsements

BitiCodes or Biti Codes claims to be “the crypto industry’s most accurate AI auto-trading app“, which “works by automatically placing trades… using trading bots to strengthen your chances of making a profitable trade.”

If you never heard of it, you won’t be alone, because it’s mainly promoted via advertisements on Facebook, Instagram, etc. They are also promoting it through Google Ads like these examples, which will often appear in completely legitimate websites.

Clicking on those advertisements will lead to legitimate-looking articles from local or crypto publications, often with a celebrity endorsing Biticodes / Biti Codes.

Here in Malaysia, people will see Biticodes being endorsed by the likes of local politicians like Lim Guan Eng or Dr. Mahathir. But those in the cybersecurity industry will quickly realise that these articles are familiar because they are almost exact copies of scam articles used in the previous Bitcoin Revolution scam.

Looking for reviews of Biticodes or Biti Codes is pointless, because they appeared to have paid for advertorials in legitimate media outlets, which are (intentionally?) wrongly listed as “reviews”. Only at the very bottom do they include a disclaimer that it was a sponsored post.

Outlook India

Biticodes Reviews : Today we’ll be talking about one platform called Biticodes that you can use to make an extra source of income. It’s safe, and you do not need to worry about anything. It may help you earn good money in very less time.

Disclaimer : This is sponsored review content posted by us. All the information about the product is taken from the official website (and not fact-checked by us). Contact customer care phone number given on product’s official website for order cancellation, return, refund, payment, delivery etc. related issues. Must consult any financial specialist before investing in BitiCodes Auto-Trading Software.

Tribune India

Biticodes is real or scam review 2022 : With an astonishing success rate of 90%, BitiCodes has what it takes to be your go-to platform for cryptocurrency trading. It can execute multiple deals per second – a rate that even the most experienced cryptocurrency traders would be hard-pressed to match.

Disclaimer : The views and opinions expressed in the above article are independent professional judgment of the experts and The Tribune does not take any responsibility, in any manner whatsoever, for the accuracy of their views. Biticodes are solely liable for the correctness, reliability of the content and/or compliance of applicable laws. The above is non-editorial content and The Tribune does not vouch, endorse or guarantee any of the above content, nor is it responsible for them in any manner whatsoever. Please take all steps necessary to ascertain that any information and content provided is correct, updated, and verified.

In other words, those are NOT legitimate reviews, and the media outlets did not even test Biticodes / Biti Codes. Their disclaimers show that their “reviews” were paid content, written by Biticodes / Biticodes.

Avast Explains How BitiCodes Scam Works

In an August 2022 article, the cybersecurity company explained how the BitiCodes (also known as TeslaCoin) scam works:

The scam encourages people to pay to create an account and invest into a fraudulent crypto investment platform. There are two ways the campaign reaches potential victims: Through Facebook ads and email. Ultimately, victims can end up losing at least $250.

At the bottom of the page is a webform requesting site visitors to enter their name, email address, and phone number in order to register for the platform. The victim receives an email from a bot sparking a conversation in the victim’s language.

After a brief example exchange, the bot sends a link to a payment gateway, and asks the victim to transfer $250 in order to activate their trading account. Another scenario involves the bot emailing potential victims with steps to login to a cryptocurrency broker page, and after a few more emails, the bot sends a link to a payment gateway, asking the victim for a $250 initial investment.

I also investigated the articles and the BitiCodes website, and noticed that they are all using highly-suspicious domains and links:

celesteal.xyz/biticodes for the BitiCodes website (registered 23 Nov. 2022)
thedailypressbriefing.com/my for the BTC-News website (registered 29 Jan. 2023)
saveontaxesthisyear.tax for the BTC-News website (registered 6 Feb. 2023)

As you can see, the domains are not only completely unrelated to the article / websites, they are almost brand new! And if you go to their domain root, nothing loads. That is not how legitimate websites function. If you do a WHOIS lookup, you will discover that the owners of these domains are hidden.

Regardless of whether BitiCodes / Biti Codes itself is legitimate, you should avoid any article that do not tally with the official website, or with irrelevant domains.

Don’t fall for the scam. Avoid these BitiCodes / Biti Codes advertisements and fake celebrity endorsements.

Please help us fight fake news – SHARE this article, and SUPPORT our work!

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SBF Allegedly Hid $8 Billion In Korean Friend Account!

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The CFTC just alleged that Sam Bankman-Fried (better known as SBF) hid $8 billion of Alameda liabilities in a “Korean friend” account on the FTX crypto exchange!

SBF Allegedly Hid $8B Liabilities In Korean Friend Account!

In the spring of 2022, Alameda Research experienced a large number of margin and loan recalls following a major downturn in the crypto markets. To meet its external debt obligations, the trading firm “greatly increased” its usage of customer funds.

By the middle of 2022, Alameda’s total fiat liability with FTX was around $8 billion. That was when, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) alleged, Sam Bankman-Fried (better known as SBF) directed his executives to move approximately $8 billion of Alameda liabilities into an unknown customer account, which he would later refer to as “our Korean friend’s account” and/or “the weird Korean account”.

The CFTC added that even though this was a sub-account under Alameda, it was labelled as “FTX fiat old” and did not have the usual @alameda-research.com email account identifier. Instead, it was stored in an internal account in the FTX database as “fiat@ftx.com”

This allowed the liabilities in that account to be hidden on FTX ledgers. Yet, the “Korean friend” account had the same privileges as Alameda’s other accounts, including exemption from liquidation characteristics.

FTX Korean Friend Account Had Special Privileges!

The “Korean friend” account had privileges to execute a transaction on FTX, even if it did not have the funds to do so. It was accomplished through a piece of code labeled as “allow negative flag”.

Separately, Bloomberg reported on December 14, that a GitHub account under the name Nishad Singh (FTX’s former engineering director), created or annotated code linked to that “Korean friend” account.

Looking back at what SBF said about Alameda, the signs were there that Alameda Research was likely losing money hand over fist.

Back in September 2022, SBF said that they should have shut down Alameda Research a year ago – before it was hit by the crypto winter.

I only started thinking about this today, and so haven’t vetted it much yet. But I think it might be time for Alameda Research to shut down. Honestly, it was probably time to do that a year ago.

By the time he made that comment, SBF probably knew that it would be a matter of time before his house of cards came falling down…

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SBF Flew Business As Judge Recuses From FTX Case!

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The FTX drama continues as SBF was seen flying business class, while Judge Ronnie Abrams recused herself from the case!

Judge Ronnie Abrams Recuses From SBF FTX Case!

The FTX drama continues with the shocking announcement by US District Judge Ronnie Abrams over a potential conflict of interest.

On Friday afternoon, December 23, Federal Judge Ronnie Abrams of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York recused herself from the FTX case.

The judge’s husband, Greg D. Andres, is a partner at the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell, which advised FTX in 2021. Though Andres himself did not personally advise FTX, Abrams chose to recuse herself from the case “to avoid any possible conflict, or the appearance of one.”

The order also stated that Davis Polk & Wardwell previously represented parties “that may be adverse to FTX and Defendant Bankman-Fried,” though Andres allegedly did not represent those clients either.

RONNIE ABRAMS, United States District Judge:

It has come to the Court’s attention that the law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, at which my husband is a partner, advised FTX in 2021, as well as represented parties that may be adverse to FTX and Defendant Bankman-Fried in other proceedings (or potential proceedings). My husband has had no involvement in any of these representations. These matters are confidential and their substance is unknown to the Court. Nonetheless, to avoid any possible conflict, or the appearance of one, the Court hereby recuses itself from this action. See 28

U.S.C. § 455.

This decision came just one day after Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) was released from custody pending trial on eight criminal charges including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and violations of federal campaign finance laws.

It is unknown why Judge Ronnie Abrams chose to wait until now to recuse herself from the FTX case. But it should be pointed that it was a different judge – Gabrial Gorenstein, who approved the record-setting $250 million bond that did not require SBF to pay a single cent up front.

A new judge from the Southern District of New York will now have to be selected to oversee Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial.

SBF Free + Flying Business On “No Cash Up Front” FTX Case Bail!

In the meantime, the disgraced FTX co-founder was spotted “chilling” in the American Airlines Greenwich Business Class lounge located at Terminal 8 of the John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City.

Sam Bankman-Fried was accompanied by his parents, FBI agents and lawyers. He had full access to what looks like an Acer Predator gaming laptop, and a smartphone. When he was asked for a photo, SBF replied, “Haha maybe not today“.

You may recall that, on December 9, SBF claimed that he did not have access to (much of) his professional or personal data, despite having obvious access to a laptop and a mobile phone.

1) I still do not have access to much of my data — professional or personal. So there is a limit to what I will be able to say, and I won’t be as helpful as I’d like. But as the committee still thinks it would be useful, I am willing to testify on the 13th.

SBF was later spotted in the Business class section of an American Airlines flight, “disguised with a beanie”. He appeared to be engaged in conversation with a suited executive.

The suited executive could be his lawyer, Mark Cohen, who may have been accompanying the disgraced FTX co-founder to his parents’ home in Palo Alto, California, where he has to serve his house arrest while awaiting trial.

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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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SBF Released On “No Cash” $250 Million Bail Bond!

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Sam Bankman-Fried, better known as SBF, has been released on a “no cash up front” $250 million bail bond!

SBF Released On “No Cash Up Front” $250 Million Bail Bond!

FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried, better known as SBF, has been released on a $250 million bond, but guess what – it does not actually require him to come up with the cash.

Instead, the release agreement showed that SBF was being released on a $250 million personal recognisance bond that was secured by his parents’ five-bedroom home in Palo Alto.

If SBF fails to appear in court, or violate other conditions of his bail, then the property would be seized. That property is estimated to be worth only $4 million.

In addition to his two parents, the bond must be signed by two other people (one of whom cannot be a relative) by January 5, 2023; and they would all be on hook for the $250 million bail.

This “no cash up front” bail deal was worked out between SBF’s legal team and US prosecutors, which included his agreement to be extradited to the United States.

New York federal court Judge Gabriel Gorenstein released him, subject to detention at his parents’ home while wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet, with mandatory mental health counselling and substance abuse treatment.

SBF had to surrender his passport under the bail agreement, and was stricter to travel to the Northern District of California, or the Southern and Eastern districts of New York for court appearances.

This was a fraud of epic proportions. If that was the only test, detention would likely be appropriate. But he voluntarily consented to extradition. That should be given weight.

If he had resisted, we would have opposed release. But his assets have diminished. This is a financial crime and he no longer works for FTX or Alameda. So the risk to the community is a marginal consideration. We propose a restrictive bail package.

– Assistant US Attorney Nick Roos

Sam Bankman-Fried faces up to 115 years in prison if convicted on all eight counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud, money laundering, and violating campaign finance laws in his cryptocurrency exchange company, FTX.

His next hearing is set for January 3, 2022, and his defence is expected to be complicated by the fact that two of his chief lieutenants – Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang pleaded guilty and are now cooperating with investigations.

But until that he is convicted, SBF will be free to enjoy life at home, catching up on Netflix or the computer games he loves to play. Living with his parents may not be what every 30+ young man likes, but it sure beats jail in the Bahamas!

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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang Plead Guilty To FTX Fraud!

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Both Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang just pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange!

Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang Plead Guilty To FTX Fraud!

Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang – two close partners of Sam Bankman-Fried, plead guilty to criminal charges related to the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange. They are now helping investigators with their investigations, in exchange for reduced sentencing.

The charges, guilty pleas and their cooperation with investigators occurred earlier, but was kept quiet until Sam Bankman-Fried (better know as SBF) was safely on a flight to the US from the Bahamas after he agreed to voluntary extradition.

SBF landed in New York at 10 PM local time on December 21, and Southern District of New York attorney Damian Williams announced that Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang pleaded guilty to charges “related to their roles in the fraud that contributed to FTX’s collapse”.

As I said last week, this investigation is ongoing and moving very quickly. I also said last week’s announcement would not be our last and let me be clear once again, neither is today’s.

I’m announcing that SDNY has filed charges against Caroline Ellison […] and Gary Wang […] in connection with their roles in the frauds that contributed to FTX’s collapse. Both Ms. Ellison and Mr. Wang have plead guilty to those charges and both are cooperating with the SDNY.

Caroline Ellison was the head of Alameda Research – the trading firm started by SBF, which allegedly had “a virtually unlimited line of credit” funded by FTX customers. A former Google employee and MIT graduate, Gary Wang co-founded FTX with Sam Bankman-Fried.

Ellison plead guilty to seven charges, which could result in up to 110 years of jail time. Gary Wang plead guilty to four charges. However, more charges could follow if investigators find evidence of other crimes.

Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang Also Faces SEC Charges

These criminal charges were paired with civil charges by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which accused Ellison, Wang and Sam Bankman-Fried of securities violations related to FTX’s cryptocurrency, FTT.

The SEC also noted that both Ellison and Wang are cooperating with its ongoing investigations.

Washington D.C., Dec. 21, 2022 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, and Zixiao (Gary) Wang, the former Chief Technology Officer of FTX Trading Ltd. (FTX), for their roles in a multiyear scheme to defraud equity investors in FTX, the crypto trading platform co-founded by Samuel Bankman-Fried and Wang. Investigations into other securities law violations and into other entities and persons relating to the alleged misconduct are ongoing.

According to the SEC’s complaint, between 2019 and 2022, Ellison, at the direction of Bankman-Fried, furthered the scheme by manipulating the price of FTT, an FTX-issued exchange crypto security token, by purchasing large quantities on the open market to prop up its price. FTT served as collateral for undisclosed loans by FTX of its customers’ assets to Alameda, a crypto hedge fund owned by Wang and Bankman-Fried and run by Ellison. The complaint alleges that, by manipulating the price of FTT, Bankman-Fried and Ellison caused the valuation of Alameda’s FTT holdings to be inflated, which in turn caused the value of collateral on Alameda’s balance sheet to be overstated, and misled investors about FTX’s risk exposure.

In addition, the complaint alleges that, from at least May 2019 until November 2022, Bankman-Fried raised billions of dollars from investors by falsely touting FTX as a safe crypto asset trading platform with sophisticated risk mitigation measures to protect customer assets and by telling investors that Alameda was just another customer with no special privileges; meanwhile, Bankman-Fried and Wang improperly diverted FTX customer assets to Alameda. The complaint alleges that Ellison and Wang knew or should have known that such statements were false and misleading.

The complaint also alleges that Ellison and Wang were active participants in the scheme to deceive FTX’s investors and engaged in conduct that was critical to its success. The complaint alleges that Wang created FTX’s software code that allowed Alameda to divert FTX customer funds, and Ellison used misappropriated FTX customer funds for Alameda’s trading activity. The complaint further alleges that, even as it became clear that Alameda and FTX could not make customers whole, Bankman-Fried, with the knowledge of Ellison and Wang, directed hundreds of millions of dollars more in FTX customer funds to Alameda.

The SEC is calling for a civil penalty, and a ban for Ellison and Wang to ever serve as a company director or officer, as well as “disgorgement of their ill-gotten gains”, and an injunction against future securities violations and limiting them to only buy and sell securities for their own accounts.

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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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Major Bitcoin Miner Core Scientific Files For Bankruptcy!

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Core Scientific – one of the world’s largest bitcoin miner, just filed for bankruptcy protection with debts of between $1 to $10 billion!

Major Bitcoin Miner Core Scientific Files For Bankruptcy!

One of the world’s largest bitcoin miner, Core Scientific (NASDAQ:CORZ), just became the first publicly-listed cryptocurrency mining company to file for bankruptcy protection.

On Wednesday, December 21, 2022, Core Scientific filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection at the Southern District of Texas, with estimated liabilities of between $1 to $10 billion, to around 1,000 to 5,000 creditors.

Core Scientific appears to have reached an agreement with some of its creditors before filing for Chapter 11, in what appears to be a prepackaged bankruptcy. It expects some support from its convertible potholders in the form of two debtor-in-possession (DIP) facilities worth up to $75 million.

This is enough extra cash to get us through the Ch 11 process while we continue to operate as usual and when we come out of the Chapter 11 process, we will be fully solvent with no liquidity issues.

We’ll come out of Chapter 11 with a much, much smaller amount of debt on our company. So we should be close to debt free.
– Core Scientific Chief Mining Officer, Russell Cann

Core Scientific Plans To Sell Mining Facilities Under Development

Core Scientific operates around 243,000 mining rigs, which account for about 10% of computing power on the Bitcoin network.

143,000 of its own mining rigs, with 14.4 exahash per second (EH/s) capacity
100,000 of hosted mining rigs for other companies, with 10 EH/s capacity

Core Scientific will continue to mine Bitcoin during its bankruptcy process, but is exploring the sale of up to one gigawatt worth of mining facilities that are under development for launch in 2023.

The likelihood of us selling assets that we currently are operating at is close to zero. The likelihood of us selling assets that are under development where we have power capacity and land and substations is high.
– Core Scientific Chief Mining Officer, Russell Cann

Core Scientific currently operates mining facilities with 850 megawatts of computing capacity.

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SEC Charges Reveal Fraud Committed By SBF In FTX!

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FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, popularly known as SBF, has just been charged with fraud by the SEC.

Take a look at the charges the SEC brought against SBF, and find out what they reveal about the fraud committed at FTX!

FTX Founder SBF Arrested, Awaiting US Extradition!

On Monday, December 12, 2022, the Royal Bahamas Police Force arrested FTX founder, Sam Bankman-Fried who is popularly known as SBF in the cryptocurrency community.

SBF was arrested after the United States government formally notified the Bahamas government that it filed criminal charges and is likely to request his extradition.

The Attorney General of the Bahamas then ordered SBF’s arrest, to hold him in custody until a formal request for extradition comes forth. Then the Bahamas intends to process the extradition request “promptly”.

SEC Charges Reveal Fraud Committed By SBF In FTX!

On Tuesday, December 13, 2022, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged SBF with “orchestrating a scheme to defraud equity investors in FTX Trading Ltd. (FTX)”.

The SEC also sought injunctions against future securities law violations, an injunction against SBF participating in securities (except for his personal account), the disgorgement of his “ill-gotten gains”, a civil penalty, and barring him from being an officer or director of any company.

“We allege that 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,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “The alleged fraud committed by Mr. Bankman-Fried is a clarion call to crypto platforms that they need to come into compliance with our laws.”

FTX Customer Funds Funnelled To Alameda

The SEC accused SBF of funnelling FTX customer funds to Alameda Research, which were then used to fund speculative investments, and provide large loans to Bankman-Fried and top FTX executives.

Customer Funds Used For Real Estate Purchases

SBF allegedly used the commingled funds from Alameda to pay for massive real estate purchases, including office space and luxury condominiums in The Bahamas.

“FTX operated behind a veneer of legitimacy Mr. Bankman-Fried created by, among other things, touting its best-in-class controls, including a proprietary ‘risk engine,’ and FTX’s adherence to specific investor protection principles and detailed terms of service. But as we allege in our complaint, that veneer wasn’t just thin, it was fraudulent,” said Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.

Customer Funds Used For Political Contributions

The SEC also alleged that SBF used commingled funds to fund political contributions. He was one of the top political donors in the 2022 election cycle.

SBF Was Both Borrower + Lender

According to the SEC, Sam Bankman-Fried was both the borrower and the lender in two instances. SBF also executed more than $1 billion from promissory notes for loans from Alameda Research.

SBF Accused Of Misleading Investors

The SEC also alleged that SBF misled investors into believing that FTX was a safe and responsible crypto asset trading platform, thus allowing FTX to raise more than $1.8 billion in funds from 90 US investors.

FTX Exposure To Alameda Not Disclosed

The SEC also alleged that Sam Bankman-Fried failed to disclose FTX’s deep exposure to Alameda, or how he was diverting FTX customer funds to Alameda for its own trading operations, or other purposes that SBF saw fit.

There was no meaningful distinction between FTX customer funds and Alameda’s own funds. Bankman-Fried thus gave Alameda carte blanche to use FTX customer assets for its own trading operations and for whatever other purposes Bankman-Fried saw fit.

The complaint alleges that, in reality, Bankman-Fried orchestrated a years-long fraud to conceal from FTX’s investors

(1) the undisclosed diversion of FTX customers’ funds to Alameda Research LLC, his privately-held crypto hedge fund;

(2) the undisclosed special treatment afforded to Alameda on the FTX platform, including providing Alameda with a virtually unlimited “line of credit” funded by the platform’s customers and exempting Alameda from certain key FTX risk mitigation measures; and

(3) undisclosed risk stemming from FTX’s exposure to Alameda’s significant holdings of overvalued, illiquid assets such as FTX-affiliated tokens.

The complaint further alleges that Bankman-Fried used commingled FTX customers’ funds at Alameda to make undisclosed venture investments, lavish real estate purchases, and large political donations.

In addition to the SEC charges, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) also announced charges against Sam Bankman-Fried.

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FTX Founder SBF Arrested, Awaiting US Extradition!

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FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, popularly known as SBF, has just been arrested in the Bahamas, and is awaiting extradition by US authorities!

FTX Founder SBF Arrested, Awaiting US Extradition!

On Monday, December 12, 2022, the Royal Bahamas Police Force arrested FTX founder, Sam Bankman-Fried who is popularly known as SBF in the cryptocurrency community.

SBF was arrested after the United States government formally notified the Bahamas government that it filed criminal charges and is likely to request his extradition.

Attorney Damian Williams for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) confirmed that the request was made by the US government based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY.

USA Damian Williams: Earlier this evening, Bahamian authorities arrested Samuel Bankman-Fried at the request of the U.S. Government, based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY. We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time.

— US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) December 12, 2022

When unsealed, charges that SBF potentially face include wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy, and money laundering. SBF could potentially face a life sentence in prison.

FTX Founder SBF Arrested : Official Statement

Here is the official statement issued by the Office of the Attorney General & Ministry of Legal Affairs, of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

Statement from the Attorney General of The Bahamas Sen. Ryan Pinder KC on the arrest of Sam Bankman-Fried

On 12 December 2022, the Office of the Attorney General of The Bahamas is announcing the arrest by The Royal Bahamas Police Force of Sam Bankman-Fried (“SBF”), former CEO of FTX.

BF’s arrest followed receipt of formal notification from the United States that it has filed criminal charges against BF and is likely to request his extradition.

As a result of the notification received and the material provided therewith, it was deemed appropriate for the Attorney General to seek BF’s arrest and hold him in custody pursuant to our nation’s Extradition Act.

At such time as a formal request for extradition is made, The Bahamas intends to process it promptly, pursuant to Bahamian law and its treaty obligations with the United States.

Responding to BF’s arrest, Prime Minister Davis stated, “The Bahamas and the United States have a shared interest in holding accountable all individuals associated with FTX who may have betrayed the public trust and broken the law. While the United States is pursuing criminal charges against BF individually, The Bahamas will continue its own regulatory and criminal investigations into the collapse of FTX, with the continued cooperation of its law enforcement and regulatory partners in the United States and elsewhere.

December 12, 2022
Office of The Attorney General & Ministry of Legal Affairs
Commonwealth of The Bahamas

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Bitcoin Revolution : Fake Celebrity Endorsements Exposed!

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You may have seen celebrity endorsements of Bitcoin Revolution circulating on Facebook and Instagram, but they are all FAKE.

Find out why there are so many fake celebrity endorsements of Bitcoin Revolution, and how they are doing it!

Bitcoin Revolution : What Is It?

Bitcoin Revolution is an online “investment” scheme that people have been warning against for many years now.

They are notorious for using fake celebrity endorsements on Facebook, Instagram, etc to scam gullible people. They have been caught using people like Kate Winslet and Hugh Jackman to former Singaporean prime minister Goh Chok Tong.

The Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) issued no less than two warnings about Bitcoin Revolution in January 2019 and August 2019.

Bitcoin Revolution is likely to be an international “get-rich-quick” cryptocurrency scam.

The public should therefore refrain from undertaking any business or transactions with the entity operating under the name of Bitcoin Revolution.

Bitcoin Revolution : Fake Celebrity Endorsements!

Take a look at just three examples of fake celebrity endorsements, courtesy of Cryptovibes :

Bitcoin Revolution : Fake Lim Guan Eng Endorsement!

Here in Malaysia, a fake Malaysiakini article was being promoted on Facebook, with the title Lim’s Biggest Confession SHOCKED EVERYONE…

The article, designed to look like a genuine Malaysiakini article, claimed that Malaysian politician Lim Guan Eng told Nabil Ahmad on the TV show MeleTOP how he made his fortune using the Bitcoin Revolution platform.

It even claimed that Lim Guan Eng showed off how much he made, before specifically endorsing Bitcoin Revolution.

All that is FAKE. There is no such segment on MeleTOP, and no such article on Malaysiakini. Lim Guan Eng never made such an endorsement.

Fake Lim Guan Eng Endorsement Exposed!

How do we know this is yet another fake celebrity endorsement?

Reason #1 : That Is A Fake Art News Page

The people behind this fake endorsement created a fake Facebook page on 2 March 2020 to masquerade as the ARTnews magazine, whose genuine Facebook page was created on 13 February 2009.

Reason #2 : The Fake Article Is Hosted On Nelassa.com

The Facebook advertisement was designed to look like it will lead you to Malaysiakini, but it actually leads to a hidden page on Nelassa.com.

Nelassa itself masquerades as a new website on cell and plant biology, with articles going back to December 2019. But a quick check shows that the domain was only registered in February 2020.

Even more interestingly, the owner of this domain blocked access to his/her name and contact – always a suspicious sign!

Reason #3 : The Links Lead To SecuredSheep.com

The fake article is replete with links to Bitcoin Revolution. But if you inspect the links, they all lead to SecuredSheep.com.

Interestingly, SecuredSheep.com is also protected by the same company – Domain Protection Services, Inc.

Please AVOID Bitcoin Revolution

Let us repeat what the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) warned in January 2019 and August 2019.

Bitcoin Revolution is likely to be an international “get-rich-quick” cryptocurrency scam.

The public should therefore refrain from undertaking any business or transactions with the entity operating under the name of Bitcoin Revolution.

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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