In Plain English: SBF did not just embezzle, he bribed politicians, per Grand Jury's Charges

Feature Image: HackerNoon’s Stable Diffusion AI, Prompt “good old bribery”

COUNT EIGHT: Conspiracy to Defraud the United States and Violate the Campaign Finance Laws

The Grand Jury further Charges:

16. From at least in or about 2020, up to and including in or about November 2022, in the Southern District of New York, and elsewhere, SAMUEL BANKMAN-FRIED, a/k/a “SBF,” the defendant, and others known and unknown, knowingly did combine, conspire, confederate, and agree together and with each other to defraud the United States, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371, and willfully and knowingly did combine, conspire, confederate, and agree together and with each other to commit offenses against the United States by engaging in violations of federal law involving the making, receiving, and reporting of a contribution, donation, or expenditure, in violation of Title 52, United States Code, Sections 30109 (d) (1) (A) & (D).

17. It was part and an object of the conspiracy that SAMUEL BANKMAN-FRIED, a/k/a “SBF,” the defendant, and others known and unknown, would and did defraud the United States, and an agency thereof, by impairing, obstructing, and defeating the lawful functions of a department and agency of the United States through deceitful and dishonest means, to wit, the Federal Election Commission’s function to administer federal law concerning source and amount restrictions in federal elections, including the prohibitions applicable to corporate contributions and conduit contributions, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, section 371.

18. It was a further part and object of the conspiracy that SAMUEL BANKMAN-FRIED, a/k/a “SBF,” the defendant, and others known and unknown, would and did knowingly and willfully make contributions to candidates for federal office, joint fundraising committees, and independent expenditure committees in the names of other persons, aggregating to $25,000 and more in a calendar year, in violation of Title 52, United States Code, Sections 30122 and 30109(d) (1) (A) & (D).

19. It was a further part and object of the conspiracy that SAMUEL BANKMAN-FRIED, a/k/a “SBF,” the defendant, and others known and unknown, would and did knowingly and willfully make contributions to candidates for federal office and joint fundraising committees by a corporation, aggregating to $25,000 : and more in a calendar year, in violation of Title 52, United States Code, Sections 30118 and 30109 (d) (1) (A).

20. In furtherance of the conspiracy and to effect the illegal objects thereof, the following overt act, among others, was committed in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere: in or about 2022, SAMUEL BANKMAN-FRIED a/k/a “SBF,” the defendant, and one or more other conspirators agreed to and did make corporate contributions to candidates and committees in the Southern District of New York that were reported in the name of another person.

(Title 18, United States Code, Section 371.)

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This court case (US v. Bankman-Fried, 22-cr-673 (Abrams), retrieved on Dec 15 2022) is part of the public domain. The court-created documents provided by PACER are works of the federal government, and under copyright law, are automatically placed in the public domain and may be shared without legal restriction.