JUST IN: Top FTX Lawyer Sings Like A Canary—What It Means For SBF
• January 5, 2023 10:13 am • CommentsThis is not good news for Sam Bankman-Fried.
Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang have already pleaded guilty to the charges against them and are reportedly cooperating with federal prosecutors and investigators.
New reports indicate that Daniel Friedberg, FTX’s former compliance chief, and top attorney, has been cooperating with federal authorities since, at least, November 22, 2022…
That meeting reportedly consisted of personnel from the DOJ, FBI, and SEC.
Friedberg resigned from FTX on November 8, 2022—a mere day after the top brass at the company were informed that FTX was nearing bankruptcy…He is expected to testify as a witness on behalf of the prosecution in the upcoming case.
We will bring you the latest developments of the ongoing FTX scandal as they become available to us; here are the latest reports:
FTX's former top lawyer cooperated with the US in Sam Bankman-Fried case . FTX’s former compliance chief Daniel Friedberg started working for Sam Bankman-Fried in 2017 and resigned from FTX days before the exchange collapsed.
— Nathan (@shanzi73338680) January 5, 2023
Previously, videos of Friedberg surfaced and were circulated on social media; in this particular video, Friedberg talks about the massive quantity of FTT minted by FTX:
Introducing: Daniel Friedberg, the "General Counsel"/"Chief Regulatory Officer" for FTX/Alameda.
Danny boy used to work with Stuart Hoegner over at Excapsa. A poker software that allowed Excapsa employees to cheat.
Here they talk about fake coins printed on FTX.
Enjoy. pic.twitter.com/51F5ScvoYw
— Bitfinex’ed 🔥🐧 Κασσάνδρα 🏺 (@Bitfinexed) December 2, 2022
According to Reuters:
At the meeting, he told prosecutors what he knew of Bankman-Fried’s use of customer funds to finance his business empire, the source said. Friedberg recounted conversations he had with other top executives on the subject and provided details of how Bankman-Fried’s hedge fund Alameda Research functioned, the source said.
FTX filed for bankruptcy protection on Nov. 11. A few days later, on Nov. 14, Friedberg received a call from two FBI agents based in New York. He told them he was willing to share information but needed to ask FTX to waive his attorney-client privilege, according to a person familiar with the matter and emails viewed by Reuters.
Friedberg wrote to FTX the next day asking the company to waive his privilege so he could cooperate with prosecutors, according to the email seen by Reuters. FTX did not do so, but agreed with Friedberg on the points he could disclose to investigators, the person said.
FTX's former top lawyer Daniel Friedberg has cooperated with U.S. prosecutors as they investigate the crypto firm's collapse, adding pressure on founder Sam Bankman-Fried who was arrested on criminal fraud charges last month. @SBF_FTX @FTX_Official #tnatwhttps://t.co/eyypFbSgnC
— Tech News around the World (@tnatw) January 5, 2023
Daniel Friedberg, FTX's former lawyer, cooperated with U.S. prosecutors & provided details on how FTX & Alameda Research functioned in a Nov. 22 meeting with officials from the Justice Department, FBI, and the SEC. pic.twitter.com/yI0e1GLjaA
— Crypto India (@CryptooIndia) January 5, 2023
Coin Telegraph adds:
While some reports suggest that Friedberg joined FTX in March 2020, Bankman-Fried reportedly claimed that he was FTX’s “legal advisor from the very beginning” in 2019. Friedberg also reportedly first represented Bankman-Fried as outside counsel on running Alameda in 2017.
Join the conversation!
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.