Sam Bankman-Fried claimed to be broke and penniless, yet U.S. regulators seize $700 million belonging directly to him!

According to court filings Friday, federal authorities seized more than $697 million in cash and assets tied to Sam Bankman-Fried. The majority of those assets were in the form of Robinhood stock that belonged to the FTX founder. Bankman-Fried disclosed in May that he had acquired a 7.6 percent stake in Robinhood, which at the time appeared to be a “attractive investment.“

700 Million in SBF Assets Seized

The 55 million or more Robinhood shares are at the center of a legal dispute that involves multiple parties, including Caribbean plaintiffs, representatives of the defunct crypto-currency lender BlockFi, Bankman-Fried itself, and FTX’s bankruptcy case management. Federal prosecutors have argued that these Robinhood shares were purchased with money allegedly stolen from FTX customers.

More than $6 million was taken from three Silvergate Bank accounts that were in the name of FTX Digital Markets. The assets, previously owned by a Bahamian company, were later acquired by the U.S. government on Jan. 11. Silvergate recently reported that in the fourth quarter of 2022, it had a net loss of $1 billion due to the collapse of FTX. In addition, the court petition claimed that approximately $50 million was stored at Moonstone Bank, a financial institution in the U.S. that has ties to the FTX administration.

SBF’s Binance Accounts

In contrast, the total value of funds and valuables held in one Binance account and two Binance.US accounts was not disclosed by federal prosecutors. These three Binance portfolios were the only assets seized that had no associated monetary value.

John J. Ray III, who became FTX’s new CEO after Sam Bankman-Fried resigned, is currently focused on reorganizing the company while working to recover funds lost by the company’s depositors. Bankman-Fried, 30, was taken into custody in December on criminal fraud charges. He is currently under house arrest after posting $250 million bail. SBF has pleaded not guilty and is currently awaiting trial, which is scheduled for October 2.