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FTX used corporate funds to purchase employee homes, new filing shows

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291–300 of 451 posts

Re: FTX used corporate funds to purchase employee homes, new filing shows

#291

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if those other reasons simply were the guy's background and pedigree. Silicon Valley is no different than Wall Street in its obsession with having the "right" educational background, having the "right" parents, having the "right" connections and so on. So many doors in corporate hiring can be bypassed with "Went to MIT" and "Stanford parents" and I wonder if they can also be bypassed by founders looking for…

That's at least one strong reason - VCs look at the person as much as the business. Crypto was filled with sleazy car-salesman "investor" types at the time Alameda Research was looking for funding. So when in came someone with a Jane Street background and not a single flashy Ferrari in their driveway, the dam broke on VCs finally being able to pour money into the crypto space on a decent looking founder.

SBF had huge sleaze vibes, so I don't know if your logic applies.

> and not a single flashy Ferrari

the article mentions his $30 million dollar penthouse ... It seems the only place the flashy assets didn't exist was in the press coverage put out by organizations SBF gave money to...

Re: FTX used corporate funds to purchase employee homes, new filing shows

#292

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a feeling he will come out worse that Elizabeth Holmes because it feels like a complete fraud and pilfering of their client's money for their own spoils. While Elizabeth ran a known fraud she didn't quite pilfer the money to completely enrich themselves like the FTX crew did.

Also at least Elizabeth wasn't stupid enough to give an interview to Vox where she admitted everything was a fraud and then told the regulators to fuck themselves. SBF's parents are both Stanford law professors, they or someone really needs to tell the kid to just stop talking.

For a certain sort of prospective law student, I’m sure this makes Stanford even more appealing. You’ll be able to learn from not one but two professors who helped their own son cop a federal plea deal!

Re: FTX used corporate funds to purchase employee homes, new filing shows

#293
post #269
post #114

In a separate article Ray also said: “Never in my career have I seen such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information as occurred here,” And this is the same man who oversaw the liquidation of Enron. "Ray said he had found at FTX international, FTX US and Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Research trading company “compromised systems integrity”, “faulty regulatory o…

Having glanced at the accounts, I don't see why SBF filed for Chapter 11. Assets across all silos seem to exceed liabilities. :) > Because such balance sheet was produced while the Debtors were controlled by Mr. Bankman-Fried, I do not have confidence in it, and the information therein may not be correct as of the date stated. ... Oh. > I have substantial concerns as to the information presented in these audited fina…

The balance sheet doesn't include the crypto funds associated with depositors on the exchange. Which is sort of a problem - they should be both asset and liabilities, and 1:1 match.

Re: FTX used corporate funds to purchase employee homes, new filing shows

#294
post #54

how did ftx successfully raise so much vc money recently? do these top vc firms do no due diligence?

That's one theory. Of course, given the depth of financial depravity on display here and the incredible thinness of the financial defense, one must also entertain the theory that they did do the due diligence, they were aware of how dangerous this was, and they invested anyhow for other reasons. And that those reasons are probably not good. There have been many cases where companies go to great lengths to do accounti…

He did not open his books to investors. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/11/technology/ftx-investors-...

“Sam Bankman-Fried’s pitch to investors was not much of a pitch: It was a take-it-or-leave-it offer.

“In meetings to raise money for his cryptocurrency exchange FTX over the last year, the entrepreneur left little room for negotiation, two investors said. FTX was his company, Mr. Bankman-Fried told them, and he planned to run it with little oversight. Interested investors should ‘support him and observe,’ one investor who heard the pitch said.”

Re: FTX used corporate funds to purchase employee homes, new filing shows

#295

To be honest: I'm just happy I get to experience another Enron, but this time I can watch it in real time on Twitter!

The Enron scandal would have been much more interesting if their CEO had tweeted through it.

Their CEO melted down and disappeared. The old CEO had to step back in. His Twitter would just be sad.

Although he did famously yell at (wall street) analysts on a quarterly earnings call right before he broke down.

Re: FTX used corporate funds to purchase employee homes, new filing shows

#296

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a feeling he will come out worse that Elizabeth Holmes because it feels like a complete fraud and pilfering of their client's money for their own spoils. While Elizabeth ran a known fraud she didn't quite pilfer the money to completely enrich themselves like the FTX crew did.

Also at least Elizabeth wasn't stupid enough to give an interview to Vox where she admitted everything was a fraud and then told the regulators to fuck themselves. SBF's parents are both Stanford law professors, they or someone really needs to tell the kid to just stop talking.

Also Elizabeth didn't do this:

Michael Lewis, who is famous for writing The Big Short and Moneyball, has reportedly been embedded with the bankrupt crypto exchange’s former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried for six months and will pen a book telling the inside story.

Re: FTX used corporate funds to purchase employee homes, new filing shows

#297
post #25
post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here it is! https://d1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net/production/7ab64a3b-6c...

Thank you! That's the highest resolution PNG of it I've seen so far, but someday I hope to get the actual XLSX.

You can retype it. I don't there are any supporting sheets. It should take like 2 minutes

Re: FTX used corporate funds to purchase employee homes, new filing shows

#298
post #160
post #114

In a separate article Ray also said: “Never in my career have I seen such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information as occurred here,” And this is the same man who oversaw the liquidation of Enron. "Ray said he had found at FTX international, FTX US and Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Research trading company “compromised systems integrity”, “faulty regulatory o…

The filing is amazing: https://pacer-documents.s3.amazonaws.com/33/188450/042020648... Don't forget to read this with the "diplomatic/legal/lawyer" mindset. These are not internet comments, these are legal filings. Sentences like "Never in my career have I seen such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information as occurred here. From compromised systems inte…

>The audit firm for the Dotcom Silo was Prager Metis, a firm with which I am not familiar and whose website indicates that they are the “first-ever CPA firm to officially open its Metaverse headquarters in the metaverse platform Decentraland.”

You're not kidding.

Re: FTX used corporate funds to purchase employee homes, new filing shows

#300
post #160
post #114

In a separate article Ray also said: “Never in my career have I seen such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information as occurred here,” And this is the same man who oversaw the liquidation of Enron. "Ray said he had found at FTX international, FTX US and Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Research trading company “compromised systems integrity”, “faulty regulatory o…

The filing is amazing: https://pacer-documents.s3.amazonaws.com/33/188450/042020648... Don't forget to read this with the "diplomatic/legal/lawyer" mindset. These are not internet comments, these are legal filings. Sentences like "Never in my career have I seen such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information as occurred here. From compromised systems inte…

The corporate structure chart at the end is rather stunning.
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