CFTC, SEC cases against Bankman-Fried to be pushed back until criminal case ends

Quick Take

  • A New York judge decided Monday to push back cases against the former FTX CEO brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
  • The motion to stay was filed last week by U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams. 

Civil cases brought by U.S. regulators against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried can be pushed back until after a criminal case concludes, a judge decided Monday. 

Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, submitted a motion to stay last week to hold off on civil proceedings until the Justice Department’s case against the former CEO is complete. 

Bankman-Fried faces criminal charges such as defrauding customers and violating campaign finance laws. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission also charged him with civil charges for fraud and said Bankman-Fried, FTX and Alameda Research caused the loss of over $8 billion in customer deposits. The Securities and Exchange Commission brought similar charges. 

Both the CFTC and SEC cases will now be pushed back until the criminal case's conclusion. 

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FTX collapsed in November and subsequently filed for bankruptcy protection. Bankruptcy proceedings remain ongoing. 

Disclaimer: Beginning in 2021, Michael McCaffrey, the former CEO and majority owner of The Block, took a series of loans from founder and former FTX and Alameda CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. McCaffrey resigned from the company in December 2022 after failing to disclose those transactions.  
 


© 2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

About Author

Sarah is a reporter at The Block covering policy, regulation and legal happenings. Before, Sarah was a reporter with CQ Legal writing about securities regulation, which is where she first started reporting on crypto. Sarah has also written for The Bond Buyer and American Banker, among other finance-related publications. She graduated from the University of Missouri and earned a degree in print and digital journalism. Sarah is based in Washington D.C., and is an avid coffee lover. You can follow her on Twitter @ForTheWynn.

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