Sam Bankman-Fried Trial: All the Names You Need to Know

The ex-CEO and co-founder of the collapsed digital asset alternate and megabrand FTX Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial begins subsequent week in New York’s Southern District. 

Bankman-Fried will face seven felony fees regarding his firm final yr blowing up in what James Bromley, counsel to FTX’s new administration, described because the “one of the vital abrupt and tough collapses within the historical past of company America.”

Though Bankman-Fried—also called SBF—would be the star of the present, there’s an entire host of different essential characters who will play an essential function within the trial. 

Sam Bankman-Fried

Bankman-Fried, 31, studied at MIT and labored at Jane Road earlier than launching FTX and Alameda Analysis. 

Dorky, loquacious and mega-rich, he turned one of many world’s youngest billionaires at 29 however claimed he subscribed to the philosophy of efficient altruism and was solely fascinated with making all that cash so he might finally give it away to good causes. 

After FTX went bankrupt in November 2021, Bankman-Fried gave a variety of interviews to mainstream media and apologized profusely about shedding a lot cash. He was then arrested within the Bahamas—the place FTX was based mostly—and hit with felony fees. 

He has pleaded not responsible. 

Barbara Fried and Joseph Bankman

SBF’s mom, Barbara Fried, was a professor at one in every of America’s most prestigious universities, Stanford Legislation Faculty, earlier than retiring final yr. She claimed her departure had nothing to do with the collapse of her son’s crypto empire. 

Earlier than her instructing place, Fried labored as an affiliate with the New York Metropolis regulation agency of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, and served as a regulation clerk to Decide J. Edward Lumbard of the U.S. Court docket of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in accordance to a Stanford bio. 

SBF’s father Joseph Bankman was additionally a regulation professor at Stanford who retired final yr. Bankman is a tax skilled who labored with the State of California to assist make the U.S. tax code friendlier to lower-income residents—a system known as ReadyReturn. 

Like his spouse, he reportedly was well-known in progressive circles. Bankman can be a medical psychologist who has testified earlier than Congress and different legislative our bodies. 

Each are concerned not solely as a result of they’re the dad and mom of the alleged fraudster, however as a result of a lawsuit filed earlier this month alleges they leveraged their influential roles inside the FTX enterprise for private acquire, and channeled thousands and thousands of {dollars} to numerous entities, household and associates.

Gabriel Bankman-Fried 

SBF’s brother Gabriel is concerned within the trial as a result of he ran a pandemic-prevention group that obtained money from FTX. Authorities at the moment are whether or not Gabriel misappropriated funds. 

Gabriel allegedly needed “to buy the sovereign nation of Nauru with the intention to assemble a ‘bunker/shelter’ that will be used for ‘some occasion the place 50%-99.99% of individuals die’.”

John J. Ray III 

John J. Ray III is the person behind the restructuring of collapsed crypto agency FTX. Serving because the crypto agency’s new CEO, he has stated that the corporate’s collapse was attributable to “a really small group of grossly inexperienced and unsophisticated people.”

With a 40-year profession, the skilled chapter lawyer had apparently seen all of it. Most notably, he helped get well tons of of thousands and thousands of {dollars} for collectors following the collapse of Enron—one of many largest bankruptcies in U.S. historical past. 

However FTX may simply be his hardest process thus far: final yr he stated he had by no means seen “such an utter failure of company controls.”

Decide Lewis Kaplan

Decide Kaplan, 78, is the choose presiding over the case—and he’s already made a variety of massive rulings within the case, together with permitting Sam to put on enterprise apparel and granting him use to an air-gapped laptop computer throughout the trial.

Described as having a “no-nonsense” model for making fast selections, he’s additionally no stranger to the crypto world: he oversaw the primary federal bitcoin securities fraud prosecution. 

Kaplan has expertise in high-profile instances comparable to lawsuits in opposition to Prince Andrew and Donald Trump. 

Ryan Salame 

Ryan Salame is the previous co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets and was stated to have dealt with political donations on behalf of the now-defunct crypto alternate’s executives. He pleaded responsible to felony marketing campaign finance violation fees in a Manhattan courtroom earlier this month. 

Sam Trabucco

Not concerned within the trial. The previous co-CEO of Alameda Analysis, Trabucco was a key determine within the FTX empire earlier than its collapse. He left the agency in August of final yr, and has maintained a low profile.

Nishad Singh

The previous head of engineering at FTX Nishad Singh pleaded responsible to fees of wire fraud, commodities fraud, securities fraud, cash laundering and marketing campaign finance violations in February. Singh, who had a 7.8% stake within the firm and was in SBF’s shut circle of associates and colleagues, agreed to cooperate with prosecutors investigating the disgraced crypto mogul.

Caroline Ellison

The ex-girlfriend of Sam Bankman-Fried, Caroline Ellison, will likely be a star witness in his felony trial. Ellison was the previous CEO of Alameda Analysis and in December she admitted fraud. 

Ellison was employed by Bankman-Fried to run Alameda—she was one in every of many shut associates and colleagues that lived with the disgraced crypto mogul. Decrypt solely uncovered that Ellison had a fascination with race science and polyamory, which she regularly blogged about. 

Gary Wang

FTX co-founder Gary Wang additionally pleaded responsible and agreed to cooperate with authorities within the FTX investigation. Buddies with Bankman-Fried since highschool, Wang helped arrange the crypto behemoth however maintained a a lot decrease profile than SBF throughout the crypto firm’s golden years.