Stanford
University will return millions of dollars it received from FTX and its affiliated
entities. This move comes amidst a lawsuit filed by the advisors of FTX, who
seek to recover funds owed to customers of the bankrupt crypto exchange. FTX
alleges that the parents of its Co-Founder and former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried,
enriched themselves with millions of dollars through their influence over FTX.
Allan Joseph
Bankman and Barbara Fried, who are legal scholars and professors at Stanford
Law School, have found themselves at the centre of this controversy. The
lawsuit claims that Stanford University received gifts worth approximately $5.5
million from FTX-related entities between November 2021 and May 2022.
A
spokesperson from Stanford University told Bloomberg of their intention to
return the funds in full, stating, “We have been in discussions with
attorneys for the FTX debtors to recover these gifts, and we will be returning
the funds in their entirety.” The spokesperson clarified that these gifts
were primarily intended for pandemic-related prevention and research.
In a separate
report, FTX and its affiliated hedge fund firm, Alameda Research, disclosed
their efforts to pursue
the recovery of $71 million that the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange
purportedly spent on philanthropic endeavours in July. This involves alleged
donations to life science companies.
FTX’s legal
team initiated proceedings in a US bankruptcy court in Delaware, accusing
several life science companies, including Lumen Bioscience Inc., Greenlight
Biosciences Holdings, and Platform Life Sciences Inc., of receiving funds from
the now-collapsed exchange.
Meanwhile,
NFL quarterback Trevor Lawrence and popular YouTube influencers Kevin Paffrath
and Tom Nash have reached
a settlement in a lawsuit related to their endorsements of FTX. The terms
of this settlement, which marks the first resolution among more than a dozen
celebrities and firms accused of assisting FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried in the
alleged deception of investors, have not been disclosed.
This lawsuit
has garnered attention due to its allegations that celebrity endorsements
significantly contributed to FTX’s rise but failed to disclose details of their
deals and compensation to investors. Notable figures, including Tom Brady,
Gisele Bundchen, Steph Curry, Shaquille O’Neal, and Larry David, who endorsed
FTX, are facing similar legal actions.
FTX’s
Celebrity Endorsement Payments Under Scrutiny
According to
a recent…
