Sam Bankman-Fried was hit with new criminal charges on Thursday, in an expanded indictment accusing the founder of the now-bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange of conspiring to make more than 300 illegal political donations, Reuters reported, Reuters reported. Bankman-Fried now faces 12 criminal charges, including four for fraud and eight for conspiracy, up from eight charges in an earlier indictment, to which he has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors have accused Bankman-Fried of stealing billions of dollars in FTX customer funds to plug losses at Alameda Research, his crypto-focused hedge fund. The new charges add to pressure on the 30-year-old former billionaire, who has seen two of his former top lieutenants plead guilty. Bankman-Fried is also trying to stay out of jail, after his online activity since his arrest prompted a federal judge to signal a willingness to revoke his $250 million bail package. His trial is slated for October.
