Single charge against Sam Bankman-Fried dropped | Fact check
Hannah HudnallThe claim: The DOJ dropped all charges against Sam Bankman-Fried because he donated to Joe Biden
A July 27 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows a screenshot of a Time article within a post from X, formerly Twitter. The article is about Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
"SBF was a major Biden donor," reads the article. "The former crypto king made one of the largest donations to Joe Biden’s presidential campaign in 2020, contributing $5.2 million, according to the Wall Street Journal."
The X post says, "I’ll give everyone 50 guesses why the Biden DOJ might have dropped its charges against Sam Bankman-Fried."
The Instagram post garnered more than 7,000 likes in five days. Similar posts have been shared on Instagram and Facebook.
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Our rating: False
While one criminal charge was dropped, Bankman-Fried is still facing trial on other charges, according to a spokesperson for the prosecutor's office. The charge was dropped because of actions by Bahamian authorities, not due to an independent DOJ decision.
Bankman-Fried will still face two criminal trials, 12 criminal counts
Bankman-Fried was arrested in December 2022 after his cryptocurrency exchange collapsed. He was charged with eight crimes, including money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government.
On July 26, prosecutors announced he would no longer face the eighth count, a criminal finance charge, according to Reuters. The Justice Department hasn't dropped all charges against him, however.
Nicholas Biase, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York, told USA TODAY the claim is false.
"As indicated on the public docket, Samuel Bankman-Fried remains criminally charged by this office," Biase said in an email. "The only count the government will not pursue is count eight, the campaign finance charge. The defendant faces trial on the remaining indictment and superseding indictment in October of this year and February of 2024."
Fact check:No, US aid to Ukraine wasn’t laundered by crypto firm FTX and sent to Democrats
Bankman-Fried donated to several Democratic campaigns, including President Joe Biden's, but the decision to drop one of his charges was made for an entirely different reason.
Prosecutors decided to drop the charge after they were informed authorities in the Bahamas did not consider it to be included in Bankman-Fried’s extradition, the Associated Press reported. So, "in keeping with U.S. treaty obligations to the Bahamas," they chose not to pursue it.
USA TODAY previously debunked similar claims that charges against Bankman-Fried were dropped when five charges were moved to a separate trial.
Bankman-Fried will face seven charges in his October trial and five in his 2024 trial, Reuters reported.
USA TODAY reached out to the Instagram and X users who shared the posts for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
The claim has also been debunked by AP and Reuters.
Our fact-check sources:
- Associated Press, July 27, Campaign finance charge dropped from case against Sam Bankman-Fried
- Reuters, July 27, Bankman-Fried campaign finance charge dropped, lessening trial's political focus
- Nicholas Biase, Aug. 2, Email exchange with USA TODAY
- U.S. District Court Southern District of New York, Dec. 9, 2022, Sealed Indictment
- USA TODAY, June 28, FTX founder Samuel Bankman-Fried still faces charges after 2022 indictment | Fact check
- FollowTheMoney.org, accessed Aug. 3, BANKMAN-FRIED, SAM
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