THE LAST ‘STRAW’

SBF faces new campaign-donor fraud raps

Accused cryptocurrency fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried and his cohorts allegedly used tens of millions of dollars in FTX funds to illegally make more than 300 political donations in a bid to influence legislation for his own gain, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday.

The 30-year-old disgraced CEO is accused in a new 12-count indictment in Manhattan federal court of siphoning off FTX’s customer cash and diverting it to his Alameda Research hedge fund so the unlawful contributions could be made.

The indictment, which includes a charge of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and other counts, alleges that Bankman-Fried (inset) carried out his campaign finance scheme, in part, to boost his standing in Washington, DC — and “curry favor” with candidates who could help pass legislation favorable to his and FTX’s agenda.

The hundreds of “substantial” political contributions were made to both Democratic and Republican campaigns because Bankman-Fried was conscious of not being known as “left-leaning” but didn’t want his name attached to GOP candidates, the filing alleges.

In those instances, Bankman-Fried and his cohorts allegedly made those donations in the names of two other FTX executives. The contributions were made directly to candidates and used FTX and Alameda funds, according to the indictment.

Ahead of last year’s midterm elections, Bankman-Fried and his coconspirators agreed to contribute at least $1 million to a super PAC for an unidentified Democratic congressional candidate affiliated with proLGBTQ issues, the filing says. Bankman-Fried allegedly enlisted a political consultant to ask one of the executives to make the donation in their name because “you being the center left face of our spending will mean you giving to a lot of woke s--t for transactional purposes.”

The executive was uncomfortable putting the donation in his name but agreed there was no one else “trusted at FTX [who was] bi/gay” in a position to do so, the indictment said.

“In total, between in or about the fall of 2021 and the November 2022 election, [Bankman-Fried] and the two FTX executives who served as straw donors as part of his scheme . . . made millions of dollars in contributions, including in ‘hard money’ contributions to federal candidates from both major political parties,” the filing says.

The contributions allegedly were made with corporate funds through a “straw donor,” someone used to illegally donate another’s money.

“In dozens of instances, BankmanFried’s use of straw donors allowed him to evade contribution limits on individual donations to candidates to whom he had already donated,” the filing said.

Overall, the new indictment contains four fraud charges and eight conspiracy charges.

A rep for Bankman-Fried declined to comment on Thursday.

Bankman-Fried previously had pleaded not guilty to eight counts including fraud and money laundering.