John Deaton Discusses Sam Bankman-Fried Trial and Implications for the Industry

• John Deaton and Wendy O expressed their belief that Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted swiftly compared to similar cases.
• Deaton and Wendy discussed the notion that SBF’s conviction was planned, suggesting he was placed in the crypto industry with the intent of discrediting it.
• Many professionals were involved in FTX’s case; Deaton and Wendy discussed how others weren’t called into question.

John Deaton, lawyer and founder of Crypto Law, welcomed crypto reporter Wendy O on his Crypto Law show. The two discussed Sam Bankman’s Fried trial, others who were involved in the fraud, and whether Bankman-Fried will be used as an example to showcase crypto as a scam. 

The talk started with Wendy sharing how she believed Bankman-Fried got convicted quickly in comparison to other similar cases. Deaton shared the same opinion; however, he stated that the jury gave the case priority and thought that they’d wasted enough time listening to Bankman-Fried’s lies. 

Furthermore, the two believed that SBF’s conviction was planned and that Bankman-Fried himself was placed in the industry “to blow up crypto.” Moreover, Deaton stated that anti-crypto figures would turn SBF and FTX “into the shining example of crypto criminality and elicit purposes.” 

Bankman-Fried had many connections with political figures and influential people, and Deaton and Wendy discussed how others were not called into question. Bankman-Fried’s parents were alleged to be connected to the case, as his father, Joseph Bankman, was an attorney and is well versed in taxes and legal information. 

Deaton brought up FTX and Alameda’s organizational chart, which had dozens of different companies, in an attempt to avoid taxes. The fact that Bankman was on the payroll and was previously the architect of Elizabeth Warren’s tax plan when she ran for president showcases that Bankman was aware of the fraud, according to Deaton.

Among the people who were supposed to get investigated, Wendy mentioned Sam Trabucco, the former CEO of Alameda, who resigned a few months before FTX collapsed. Also, many attorneys looked at legal documents. Wendy said, “There were so many professional people that were involved, and they were supposed to report if there’s something wrong happening.”

Bankman-Fried was meeting with Gary Genser, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and was meeting with a lot of politicians and public officials. Witnesses in the case claimed that SBF was donating to political parties, and Wendy questioned how all these people were allowing SBF to do all these things. 

The two crypto figures spoke about the time Bankman-Fried might get in prison. While Deaton said, “The judge is going to hammer him with multiple decades in prison,” Wendy stated that SBF is going to get protective custody. Wendy explained that he might serve significant prison time as the government would want to make an example out of him; however, a lot of influential people might get involved.