The Sam Bankman-Fried Trial Is a Family Affair

For months, Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, have stood at their son’s side as he faced multiple federal charges of fraud, money laundering and campaign finance violations related to the collapse of FTX.

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Now, the Stanford professors find themselves squarely at the center of the case, accused of misappropriating millions in company assets and playing a key role in alleged misdoings at the fallen cryptocurrency empire.

The SBF trial is becoming a family affair.

“[Bankman and Fried] were very much involved — from the founding of the FTX Group until its collapse.”

“Bankman and Fried exploited their access and influence within the FTX enterprise to enrich themselves, directly and indirectly,” the company’s complaint, filed Monday, begins, listing multiple ways in which Joseph and Barbara quietly directed operations behind the scenes.

SBF has said his parents “weren’t involved in any of the relevant parts” of the business, but prosecutors say “they were very much involved — from the founding of the FTX Group until its collapse.”

Bankman portrayed himself “as the proverbial adult in the room” as he worked “alongside inexperienced fellow executive officers, directors and managers responsible for safeguarding billions of dollars,” the complaint says. He “received millions of dollars in unearned ‘gifts’ and real property, flew on privately-chartered jets, expensed $1,200 per night hotel stays to the FTX Group, and even appeared in a Super Bowl commercial with Seinfeld writer Larry David months before the FTX Group imploded,” prosecutors say. Fried, meanwhile, was the “single most influential advisor” to SBF/FTX’s political contributions campaign, repeatedly calling upon her son to give millions of dollars directly to a political action committee that she co-founded and for which she served as President and Chairwoman.

You have to hand it to the SBF’s prosecutors. They know how to frame an anecdote and raise a telling detail.

SBF put his father in charge of FTX Group spending, and SBF’s father gave SBF’s Aunt $14k/month to plan a hackathon

The event cost…