FTX's Ryan Salame has returned to Twitter for the first time since FTX collapsed — hours after he was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison for his role in the FTX fraud and for his illegal campaign contributions 💀
Ryan Salame (former CEO of the Bahamian portion of FTX) has submitted his sentencing memo. He's asked for no more than 18 months imprisonment for his charges.
He was charged with conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business and conspiracy to make unlawful political contributions and defraud the Federal Election Commission.
He argues that he was not substantially involved in the wrongdoing at FTX and instead lays much of the blame on others (mainly Bankman-Fried and Dan Friedberg).
He argues that his substance abuse (alcohol and unspecified drugs), charitable work, and family commitment should be considered in his sentencing.
Salame is the first of the four other high-level FTX employees to be sentenced. He pleaded guilty (as did all the others), but was the only one who did not have a cooperation agreement.
Salame has agreed to restitution (~$5.6 million) and forfeiture ($6 million, two properties, and a business) which he says "will leave him with no remaining assets".
We've been hearing an increasing number of reports of trans people's GPs refusing to prescribe their HRT to them - even if they have a letter from an NHS gender clinic requesting that they do.
Here's a peek into the sentencing hearing that ended with Sam Bankman-Fried receiving 25 years in prison. I also discuss some of the shock at what is being perceived as a light sentence, and the amount of time SBF is likely to actually serve.
wow. one of the new victim impact statements filed tonight is from someone who lost almost six figures to a hack in 2021, had assets stuck on voyager after its july 2022 collapse, and then lost assets to FTX
he went from working in the industry to vocally advocating against it
In a document labeled “these are all random probably bad ideas that aren’t vetted,” convicted fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried considered going on Tucker Carlson’s show to “come out as a republican” and “come out against the woke agenda.”
Bitcoin's spiking — are we in for another round of crypto mania? I also go through Sam Bankman-Fried's sentencing memorandum, in which he asks for 6 years imprisonment instead of the recommended 100, and the 29 people who wrote letters in support.
These are the 29 people who wrote letters in support of Sam Bankman-Fried's request for a lenient sentence. As you might expect, Stanford is well represented, as are members of the effective altruist community.
Sam Bankman-Fried's mother, Barbara Fried, writes of her son's compassion in her letter to the judge. "To this day, Sam is the first person we would call if we needed an angel of mercy in a pinch."
....does she not know the common meaning of that phrase??
One of the weirdest aspect of #EndStageCapitalism is the collapse of #auditing, the lynchpin of investing. Auditors - independent professionals who sign off on a company's finances - are the only way that investors can be sure they're not handing their money over to failing businesses run by crooks.
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If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:
The crook has the victim's money, and the victim doesn't know it. The Bezzle is that interval when you're still assuming that #FTX isn't lying to you about the crazy returns they're generating for your crypto. It's the period between you getting the shrinkwrapped box with a 90% discounted #PS5 in it from a guy in an alley, and getting home and discovering that it's full of bricks and styrofoam.
An independent examiner will be appointed in the #FTX bankruptcy case after all, thanks to a Third Circuit decision overturning the bankruptcy judge's decision not to appoint one.