Sam Bankman-Fried is facing more federal charges after the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York filed a superseding indictment unsealed Thursday that could mean decades more prison time for the FTX founder if he is found guilty.
The new indictment — which is the third from the SDNY and replaces the prior two — adds four more counts to the eight charges Bankman-Fried was already facing in connection with the collapse of his cryptocurrency exchange. It also adds another potential forty years in prison on top of the 115 years the disgraced crypto titan was already looking at if convicted.
When contacted for comment on the new charges, U.S. attorney for the SDNY Damian Williams told FOX Business in a statement, "We are hard at work and will remain so until justice is done."
The additional charges include one count of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, and one count of conspiracy to make unlawful political contributions and defraud the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
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In respect to the political donations charges, the indictment reveals that donations were made in the names of two top FTX executives, but only refers to them as "CC-1" and "CC-2." As previously reported, former FTX executives Ryan Salame and Nishad Singh were on the list of top political donors — Salame to Republicans, and Singh to Democrats — overall during last election cycle.
Bahamian authorities claimed in FTX bankruptcy proceedings that Salame alerted them to alleged fraudulent transactions involving FTX and Bankman-Fried's hedge fund, Alameda Research, ahead of the collapse. A source told FOX Business Singh is currently cooperating with prosecution.
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The new indictment arrives as Bankman-Fried's bail modifications are under review regarding his communication privileges. Prosecutors raised concerns that Bankman-Fried might use encrypted messaging apps or virtual private networks (VPNs) to tamper with witnesses.
Judge Lewis Kaplan, who is overseeing the case, already questioned the prosecution on why they did not want Bankman-Fried to await trial behind bars. The added counts could present a new challenge for Bankman-Fried's defense team in their effort to paint him in a good light.
The former FTX CEO is currently on house arrest at his parents' home in Palo Alto, Calif. on a $250 million bond.
Bankman-Fried will be formally arraigned on the fresh filing. He has already pleaded not guilty to the previous eight charges, and his trial is set to begin in the fall.
