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Trial of Sam Bankman-Fried — Wikipedia
referenceCredibility Rating
3/5
Good(3)Good quality. Reputable source with community review or editorial standards, but less rigorous than peer-reviewed venues.
Rating inherited from publication venue: Wikipedia
Relevant to AI safety discussions around the effective altruism community, ethics-washing, and governance failures; SBF's prominence as an EA/AI safety donor made this trial notable for the field.
Metadata
Importance: 25/100wiki pagereference
Summary
Wikipedia article covering the criminal trial of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who was convicted of fraud and conspiracy charges related to the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange. The trial examined how customer funds were misappropriated and the broader context of effective altruism connections in the tech/crypto space.
Key Points
- •SBF was convicted on multiple counts of fraud and conspiracy in November 2023 for misusing FTX customer funds
- •The case raised questions about ethics-washing, where public commitments to EA and AI safety were used to build reputational credibility
- •Trial highlighted risks of concentrated power and lack of oversight in crypto and tech ventures with AI safety community ties
- •SBF had been a prominent donor to AI safety and EA causes, making his conviction notable for those communities
- •The case is a cautionary example of governance failures and the dangers of charismatic leaders operating without accountability
Cited by 1 page
| Page | Type | Quality |
|---|---|---|
| EA Institutions' Response to the FTX Collapse | -- | 53.0 |
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# Trial of Sam Bankman-Fried
Trial of Sam Bankman-Fried
2023 trial of FTX founder
| United States v. Bankman-Fried |
| --- |
| [](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:USDCSDNY.svg) |
| Court | [United States District Court for the Southern District of New York](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_District_Court_for_the_Southern_District_of_New_York "United States District Court for the Southern District of New York") |
| Full case name | _United States of America v. Samuel Bankman-Fried_ |
| Started | October3, 2023;2 years ago(2023-10-03) |
| Decided | November2,2023;2 years ago(2023-11-02) |
| Verdict | [Guilty on all counts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guilty_on_all_counts "Guilty on all counts") |
| Charge | - [Wire fraud](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_fraud "Wire fraud") (2 counts)<br>- [Conspiracy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_conspiracy "Criminal conspiracy") (5 counts) |
| Court membership |
| Judge sitting | [Lewis A. Kaplan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_A._Kaplan "Lewis A. Kaplan") |
_**United States of America v. Samuel Bankman-Fried**_ was a 2023 federal criminal trial in the [United States District Court for the Southern District of New York](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_District_Court_for_the_Southern_District_of_New_York "United States District Court for the Southern District of New York"). Financial entrepreneur [Sam Bankman-Fried](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Bankman-Fried "Sam Bankman-Fried"), commonly known as SBF, was convicted on seven charges of [fraud](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraud "Fraud") and [conspiracy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspiracy "Conspiracy") following the collapse of his [cryptocurrency](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptocurrency "Cryptocurrency") exchange [FTX](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FTX "FTX") in November 2022.[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_of_Sam_Bankman-Fried#cite_note-1) After the jury's verdict in November 2023, on March 28, 2024, Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison.[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_of_Sam_Bankman-Fried#cite_note-2)
The trial and conviction of Bankman-Fried was one of the most notorious cases of [white-collar crime](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-collar_crime "White-collar crime") in the United States and raised awareness within the business community over criminal activity in the cryptocurrency market. The trial had several implications, with financer [Anthony Scaramucci](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Scaramucci "Anthony Scaramucci") calling Bankman-Fried "the [Bernie Madoff](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Madoff "Bernie Madoff") of crypto".[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_of_Sam_Bankman-Fried#cite_note-3)
The trial received significant media attention, wi
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