FTX Founder Samuel Bankman-Fried Arrested/General Crypto Scams Thread

Gazza

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There is a good article about an inmate's 15-year experience in that prison here.

Amnesty International (not a big fan of them myself) filed the following points in their report about Fox Hill:
  • Unacceptably overcrowded accommodation was evidenced in all prison units, seriously affecting the living conditions for inmates and the working conditions for staff. Cells were dark and fetid, and many prisoners slept on cardboard.
  • Many prisoners are still subject to the degrading practice of slopping out while the prison still has inadequate plumbing and drainage system.
  • With at least one death reportedly resulting from inadequate medical care, and several reported suicides at the prison, access to physical and mental health care in prison remains chronically lacking. There are high rates of infectious diseases including tuberculosis (TB). Prisoners suffering from AIDS, HIV or TB do not receive adequate medical care or drugs. The risk of cross-contamination for infectious diseases such as TB to other prisoners and prison workers is dangerously high.
  • At the time of the visit there was only one full-time doctor for a population of over 1,000, and no psychiatrist. Psychiatric care is virtually non-existent.
  • There have been repeated, unconfirmed, serious allegations of sexual abuse and rape which do not appear to have been adequately investigated by the authorities.
I am no expert but I've seen movies, most of these bullet points apply to a great many prisons in the US at least, I'd guess.
 

frostbite

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Both his parents are law professors at Stanford and he has a degree from MIT. How did he manage to mess up so badly?
 

Tarrou

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I thought the idea about crypto was that they're far from the government reach?
he incorporated a company, held bank accounts, bought assets, had employees, and handled client funds which were deposited from real money bank accounts (which he also stole)..

he couldn’t be closer to government reach
 

TwoSheds

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Both his parents are law professors at Stanford and he has a degree from MIT. How did he manage to mess up so badly?
Because being educated doesn't make you wise. It can make you arrogant though.
 

Darkhorsez

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Both his parents are law professors at Stanford and he has a degree from MIT. How did he manage to mess up so badly?
Greed and wrong upbringing I only guess. Smart people sometimes think they are too good to get away with things. So happy he got caught and may this be lesson to others.
 

Sky1981

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There is a good article about an inmate's 15-year experience in that prison here.

Amnesty International (not a big fan of them myself) filed the following points in their report about Fox Hill:
  • Unacceptably overcrowded accommodation was evidenced in all prison units, seriously affecting the living conditions for inmates and the working conditions for staff. Cells were dark and fetid, and many prisoners slept on cardboard.
  • Many prisoners are still subject to the degrading practice of slopping out while the prison still has inadequate plumbing and drainage system.
  • With at least one death reportedly resulting from inadequate medical care, and several reported suicides at the prison, access to physical and mental health care in prison remains chronically lacking. There are high rates of infectious diseases including tuberculosis (TB). Prisoners suffering from AIDS, HIV or TB do not receive adequate medical care or drugs. The risk of cross-contamination for infectious diseases such as TB to other prisoners and prison workers is dangerously high.
  • At the time of the visit there was only one full-time doctor for a population of over 1,000, and no psychiatrist. Psychiatric care is virtually non-existent.
  • There have been repeated, unconfirmed, serious allegations of sexual abuse and rape which do not appear to have been adequately investigated by the authorities.
To be fair i think that applies to the majority of prisons in the world.
 

Darkhorsez

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To be fair he got away to the Bahamas didn't he? I dont know they had extradition deal.
I was not aware of that too but I guess he had poor counsel on it. People like him probably surround themselves with advice that is inline with their own thinking!
 

VeevaVee

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Because being educated doesn't make you wise. It can make you arrogant though.
I suspect that’s the case. Pure arrogance. He figured he’d cracked the system and then that he’d become powerful enough to be untouchable.

He was clearly very clued up to get FTX to that stage, and any interviews with him prior confirm that. Since then it’s turned out he’s not the humble nerd he made out.

In terms of people having said FTX was safe. There’s risk involved every step of the way and mitigating that risk is the key. FTX painted a very legit picture so it’s not surprising people placed their bets on it not imploding. It’s pretty insane that someone was prepared to risk tanking everything they’d built for more money than they’d ever need, but also not that surprising at the same time if they’re as arrogant as SBF seems to be. Hope he gets what’s coming to him.
 

GloryHunter07

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Both his parents are law professors at Stanford and he has a degree from MIT. How did he manage to mess up so badly?
I have recently learnt that strong academics dont guarantee someone is going to be good at their job.
 

frostbite

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tenpoless

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He is how I imagine a virgin WoW classic player on a dead server who spams "Thunderfury Blessed Blade of Windseeker" in trade chat, with crumbs all over his shirt and pee bottles beneath his desk look like.
 

Tarrou

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Can we just say crypto is a scam generally?
you can but it makes no sense

scams are built using crypto just like scams are carried out in USD

is USD a scam?

are credit cards a scam? there is a lot of credit card fraud as well
 

Bert_

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you can but it makes no sense

scams are built using crypto just like scams are carried out in USD

is USD a scam?

are credit cards a scam? there is a lot of credit card fraud as well
Trading bits of paper for TVs and stuff sounds like a scam!
 

Dr. Dwayne

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Why would Stanford sack them? You can't sack people for law breaking they had nothing to do with.
I'm not sure how these institutions work but if the board or whatever Universities have thinks it might damage their reputation you never know what might happen. Sacking would be difficult, costly and further harm Stanford's reputation so they may be offered early retirement to quietly move them out of the picture.*

*purely speculative, of course.
 

Wibble

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I'm not sure how these institutions work but if the board or whatever Universities have thinks it might damage their reputation you never know what might happen. Sacking would be difficult, costly and further harm Stanford's reputation so they may be offered early retirement to quietly move them out of the picture.*

*purely speculative, of course.
I guess but I'd want to be careful around law professors if I were Stanford.
 

JeffFromHK

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you can but it makes no sense

scams are built using crypto just like scams are carried out in USD

is USD a scam?

are credit cards a scam? there is a lot of credit card fraud as well
I do think crypto as a concept itself is a fraud. Cryptos are just of unlimited supply so their long-term value is essentially zero, but people try to fool people into believing that Cryptos are of limited supply hence protect value of their assets
 

Tarrou

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I do think crypto as a concept itself is a fraud. Cryptos are just of unlimited supply so their long-term value is essentially zero, but people try to fool people into believing that Cryptos are of limited supply hence protect value of their assets
what so you think there is unlimited bitcoin but we’ve all been duped?

I don’t think I believe you
 

JeffFromHK

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what so you think there is unlimited bitcoin but we’ve all been duped?

I don’t think I believe you
you can create bitcoin 2.0, 3.0 (doge coin, ethereum...) and so on with almost no efforts. crpyto is worse then legal tender. states can irresponsibly issue currency, though they (those countries' people) would face inflation as a consequence.
the "issuers" of crypto can issue currency at virtually zero costs as they will.
 

Tarrou

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you can create bitcoin 2.0, 3.0 (doge coin, ethereum...) and so on with almost no efforts. crpyto is worse then legal tender. states can irresponsibly issue currency, though they (those countries' people) would face inflation as a consequence.
the "issuers" of crypto can issue currency at virtually zero costs as they will.
okay

so what’s the answer to my question?
 

Murder on Zidane's Floor

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you can but it makes no sense

scams are built using crypto just like scams are carried out in USD

is USD a scam?

are credit cards a scam? there is a lot of credit card fraud as well
Well USD frauds are insured against by the state/regulation so not really comparable.
 

Murder on Zidane's Floor

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so all fraud is insured now? thats great!
Well, it's a crime for one. Regulations exist which enable recompense.

Example; last month my mother got scammed for £8k. Reported it, gave the information to the bank and the fraud squad. Three weeks later, money is returned.

If she had sent crypto rather than fiat, she ain't getting that back.
 

Tarrou

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Well, it's a crime for one. Regulations exist which enable recompense.

Example; last month my mother got scammed for £8k. Reported it, gave the information to the bank and the fraud squad. Three weeks later, money is returned.

If she had sent crypto rather than fiat, she ain't getting that back.
i know but loads of fraud and crime exists in fiat currency which isn't insured so its a moot point as you know

because a currency or technology isn't a scam, how its used is
 

Jerch

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Both his parents are law professors at Stanford and he has a degree from MIT. How did he manage to mess up so badly?
Yes but they are tax law professors and not compliance professor as some "fish" was promoting it for a long time.