SBF’s arrest isn’t reassuring users who are worried about getting their money out of the failed exchange. “It really wouldn’t change my life or anyone’s life if he goes to jail,” one user said. An attorney said he believes it is likely that Sam Bankman-Fried will end up going to jail. Loading Something is loading.
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FTX users say that the arrest of the exchange’s fallen founder this week provides little sense of justice or surety that anyone’ finances will be made whole even if he goes to jail for defrauding investors.
Tadeh Tarverdian, a customer of FTX who had $10,000 in his account when the exchange collapsed last month, said news of the Sam Bankman-Fried’s arrest made him more anxious about getting his money back. He worries the arrest could delay the process of returning customer funds. The money represents around a decade’s worth of savings, and would have helped him fund his attendance to medical school.
“It really wouldn’t change my life or anyone’s life if he goes to jail or prison. Maybe some people do get a sense of closure, but they’re still going to lose their funds,” Tarverdian said.
Evan Luthra, an entrepreneur who says he lost $2 million when the exchange collapsed, also doesn’t find comfort in Bankman-Fried’s arrest. He’s already written off his investment, and says he’s not convinced Bankman-Fried will be convicted, or receive the proper punishment.
“I would only be convinced when I see a see a photo of him behind bars, and I know he gets a strong sentence that sticks,” Luthra said.
FTX’s downfall roiled crypto markets and shed light on numerous accounting scandals within the firm, once among the largest and most respected players in the space. The exchange had no in-house accounting department, commingled customer funds with sister trading firm Alameda Research, and reportedly spent $100 million on luxury vacation homes for its employees.
Bankman-Fried, previously seen as the benevolent face of the industry, embarked on a month-long public apology tour before his arrest, providing rambling, contradictory, and possibly self-incriminating answers to deny allegations of defrauding investors. None of that was sufficient to convince some FTX customers or soothe fears that they may not be made whole, as experts warn that recoveries may amount to just pennies on the dollar.
Tarverdian said he wanted to see Bankman-Fried take accountability for the collapse, while Luthra said Bankman-Fried’s public apologies made him angry.
“It really pisses me off that he can go around getting … respect from the New York Times to be put on stage,” he said, referring to Bankman-Fried’s interview at the New York Times DealBook conference a few weeks after the exchange filed for bankruptcy. “He painted the story. He knew from the beginning what he was doing and he really got us. I am very pissed off and it makes me feel very, very deceived.”
According to E. Jay Abt, a criminal defense lawyer based in Georgia, it’s likely that Bankman-Fried will be convicted. He speculated the former crypto executive would be found guilty due to the “obvious” mismanagement of FTX, as well Bankman-Fried’s media interviews. Statement like, “Fuck regulators,” which Bankman-Fried told a Vox reporter last month, won’t help his case.
“His own statements in the media and the press are incredibly incriminating. He admitted to gross mismanagement. He admitted to criminal fraud in several interviews. So I think he’s almost certainly going to face criminal penalties,” Abt said, adding that Bankman-Fried’s lawyers may even advise him to take a plea deal instead of going to trial.
It’s unclear why Bankman-Fried was inclined to talk to the press, or why he agreed to testify remotely at a congressional hearing on FTX this week, as there was little he could have said at that point to help his case, Abt said.
Paul Delfabbro, a psychology professor who studies behavioral addictions, speculated it may have been due disgraced crypto mogul putting on a facade of ignorance.
According to Paul Delfabbro, a psychology professor who studies behavioral addiction, Bankman-Fried may have simply thought he could keep playing the game.
“I think he believes he can play the media and the world the way he plays the markets. Get the view out there that was just incompetent. Just speculation, but I think this is the game he is playing.”