FTX’s former CEO and scammer, SBF, is still making headlines and the latest twist in the tale is a doozy. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has seized SBF’s Robinhood shares, worth a whopping $450 million. According to the DOJ, the seized assets are related to crimes such as wire fraud and money laundering.
But wait, there’s more! SBF allegedly used a loan from Alameda Research to purchase the shares, which were being held at a UK brokerage called ED&F Man. And if that wasn’t enough, SBF has even requested access to his $455 million Robinhood shares to cover his legal fees, but unfortunately for him, that request has been denied. Serves him right.
In the midst of all this drama, there’s also the matter of the “fall” of FTX, which has left many users out of pocket. It’s unclear at this point whether these users will be able to access their lost funds, but one thing’s for sure – they’ve definitely lost their life savings.
But the fun (or lack thereof) doesn’t stop there. While SBF is under house arrest, details about how user funds were used at FTX last year have come to light. Court filings reveal that millions of dollars were spent on food, travel, and accommodation. In fact, SBF’s empire reportedly lost a whopping $40 million between January and September 2022.
But where did all that money go?
Well, $15 million of it was reportedly spent on luxury hotels and accommodation, including a cool $5.8 million at the Albany hotel where SBF had a $30 million penthouse (and where he was subsequently arrested). The Grand Hyatt hotel racked up a tidy $3.6 million in expenses, and the fancy Rosewood resort received a generous $800,000.
But perhaps the most shocking revelation of all is that $6.9 million was spent on meals and entertainment, with catering services accounting for a whopping half of that amount. SBF reportedly dined at the Nassau bistro and often spent $2,500 on meals for himself and his staff. And let’s not forget about the cost of flights, which came in at a staggering $4 million, or the cost of mail and delivery, which was over $500,000.
And in case you thought the drama was over, think again. The DOJ’s seizure of SBF’s Robinhood shares has also caught the attention of another company called BlockFi, which has requested access to the shares.
But that’s not all. Shortly after being released on bail, SBF’s wallet was drained of a cool $600,000, which ended up on a no-KYC exchange. This raised a few eyebrows, as it’s possible that SBF could have violated the terms of his release by cashing out the money – the terms state that he can’t conduct business worth more than $1,000 without permission.
However, Nomichief, the former head of SushiSwap, has claimed that he gave SBF control of the wallet, so it’s possible that the situation is more complicated than it initially seemed.
As the drama surrounding FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) continues to unfold, it’s becoming clear that this is a story with many layers. From the US Department of Justice’s seizure of SBF’s Robinhood shares to the discovery of lavish spending on hotels, meals, and flights, it’s clear that there’s more to this tale than meets the eye.
In short, it’s been a wild ride for FTX and SBF, and we have a feeling this story isn’t over yet. We’ll be sure to keep you updated as more information becomes available, but for now, it looks like we’ll just have to sit back and see how everything plays out. Maybe we should all invest in some popcorn stock – this show looks like it’s going to be a long and bumpy one.
