Sam Bankman-Fried: The FTX Crypto Fraud That Wasn't Quite a Ponzi Scheme

Tell us your story here! Welcome to Scams, Hacks, and Frauds, where we retell tales of true crime fraudsters and scams. This week we're looking at Sam Bankman-Fried, the crypto wunderkind whose FTX exchange collapsed in November 2022, leaving more than a million customers unable to get their money out. The son of two Stanford law professors, SBF went from Bitcoin arbitrage to running one of the world's biggest crypto exchanges, with Super Bowl ads, celebrity endorsements and a penthouse in the Bahamas. Behind the scenes, his hedge fund Alameda Research had a secret overdraft on FTX, and it used customers' crypto to fund property, political donations and risky bets. We follow the story from the CoinDesk report that started the run on FTX, through his extradition and trial, to his 25-year sentence, his failed appeal, and his bid for a pardon from President Trump. Along the way we ask whether FTX really was a modern-day Ponzi scheme, and whether victims really got "119%" of their money back. We finish with practical advice on crypto risk, deposit protection limits in the UK and US, celebrity endorsements, and the FTX recovery scams now targeting victims. Tune in to protect yourself and your loved ones from the next big crypto fraud. We (usually) publish new content every other Monday. The short time our episodes save your wallet, and help protect your family. If you like shows like "The Perfect Scam" or "Darknet Diaries" then this show might be for you.   On our website you’ll find more computer hacking, identity fraud, impersonation, consumer rights and Romance Scams.  To find these and to access our transcripts, visit us at www.scamshacksandfrauds.com. The transcript and spoken audio are available under the Creative Commons, Share Alike, With Attributions license. For more information on this visit creativecommons.org.