Sam Bankman-Fried clearly wasted and ruined his life. / “Behind Every Great Fortune, There Is a Crime” ~ Honoré de Balzac

~ Friday, November 3, 2023 Blog Post ~

Sam Bankman-Fried (Image source: Markets Insider)

The guilty verdict for Sam Bankman-Fried closes a chapter on the cryptocurrency industry’s largest and infamous scam. I believe the disgraced FTX founder’s victims now feel some relief.

Sam Bankman-Fried’s case is a cautionary tale to other financial fraudsters out there. I agree with lawyer Andre Damian Williams Jr. that scammers should not feel they are untouchable. FTX victims consider Sam Bankman-Fried as another Charles Ponzi, Elizabeth Holmes, or Bernard Madoff.

The guilty verdict is certainly disappointing for Sam’s parents. He failed them as a son being guilty on all counts of the charges against him. Sam Bankman-Fried wasted his privileged, well-connected life. He threw away his Massachusetts Institute of Technology education and comfortable Silicon Valley lifestyle. The newly convicted fraudster clearly disposed of and destroyed his young life.

The billions of US dollars blinded Sam Bankman-Fried and made him unable to think clearly about the repercussions of his unscrupulous actions that were obviously financially devastating to the FTX victims.

I believe US authorities will indict TerraLabs co-founder Do Kwon next. I understand he is presently incarcerated in Montenegro, and I believe he will have the same fate as Sam Bankman-Fried.

With the US$8-billion FTX criminal fraud case, I now agree that, in many cases, “Behind every great fortune, there is a crime.” This quote was by French playwright and novelist Honoré de Balzac. It was used by “The Godfather” writer Mario Puzo in his popular 1969 novel, in which he told the violent story of a Mafia family. Mr. Puzo used Balzac’s quotation as the epigraph for his novel.

I agree that in every great fortune — especially one amassed very quickly like Sam Bankman-Fried’s — a crime was committed. And there certainly was, per yesterday’s verdict.

French playwright and novelist Honoré de Balzac (Image source: Biography.com)

Since I’m a subscriber of The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, and Barron’s, I have access to the latest finance and business news. I want to share the 11 links to the Sam Bankman-Fried case’s verdict and other related information below:

1. The Wall Street Journal

Smoked Fish, Shaggy Hair and Tears: 8 Unforgettable Moments From Sam Bankman-Fried's Trial

https://www.wsj.com/finance/currencies/sam-bankman-fried-ftx-trial-top-moments-d5d41439

2. Barron’s

Sam Bankman-Fried Guilty of Criminal Fraud, Jury Finds

https://www.barrons.com/articles/sam-bankman-fried-trial-a1db0a07

3. MarketWatch

Crypto king Sam Bankman-Fried convicted of plundering billions in collapse of FTX

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/crypto-king-sam-bankman-fried-convicted-of-plundering-billions-in-collapse-of-ftx-53a3013d

4. Barron’s

Crypto Has Moved On From SBF. Brace for Crackdowns.

https://www.barrons.com/articles/sbf-guilty-bitcoin-regulation-dfa4e726

5. CNBC

https://twitter.com/CNBC/status/1720228871360938300

6. CNBC

https://twitter.com/CNBC/status/1720488895706456422

7. Watcher.Guru

https://twitter.com/WatcherGuru/status/1720238775660372233

8. Tiffany Fong

https://twitter.com/TiffanyFong_/status/1720431027477184964

9. Last Call — CNBC

https://twitter.com/LastCallCNBC/status/1720235347743814127

10. Reuters

https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1720367712470528089

11. CBS Mornings

https://twitter.com/CBSMornings/status/1720406901895180399

References:

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/06/20/business/crypto-boss-do-kwon-sentenced-prison-montenegro/index.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor%C3%A9_de_Balzac

https://www.inspiringquotes.us/author/7972-honore-de-balzac/about-crime

https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780191843730.001.0001/q-oro-ed5-00000746

https://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/09/09/fortune-crime/#google_vignette