FTX’s new CEO told members of Congress that SBF’s family had “certainly received payments” from the company

The two Stanford professors, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, have not been charged with any wrongdoing, but FTX’s current CEO, John J. Ray III, recently told members of the U.S. Congress that Joseph Bankman and “the family certainly received payments” from FTX.

SBF’s ethics-obsessed parents face scrutiny over their alleged ties to FTX operations.

On Saturday, a Reuters article reported that FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) would likely surrender to a U.S. extradition request, although it was initially reported that SBF would oppose extradition to the United States. The article details that SBF’s parents, who are reportedly in the Bahamas to support their son, are under scrutiny. on their involvement in FTX’s operations according to CNN.

While speaking before the U.S. Congress about the FTX collapse, current FTX CEO John J. Ray III was asked about SBF’s parents and whether Joseph Bankman was an employee. “He received payments“, replied the new CEO and chief restructuring officer of FTX. “The family certainly received payments“.

The FTX CEO’s statements to Congress follow the report that $121 million in Bahamian real estate was associated with SBF’s parents and FTX. One home in particular was a house purchased for $164.4 million in SBF’s parents’ names, but SBF detailed “That it was intended to be owned by the company. I don’t know how that was concealed“. SBF’s parent spokesperson stated:

SBF’s parents never intended and never believed that they had any economic or beneficial ownership of the house.

Fried and Bankman both teach law courses at Stanford University, and the news publication Puck recently published an article on the subject that said SBF’s parents were obsessed with ethics. SBF, himself, told the New York Times (NYT) that his parents “bore no responsibility” for his cases. Bankman was scheduled to teach law classes this month and recently canceled his classes, while Fried recently resigned from the Mind The Gap Super Political Action Committee (PAC), a PAC she helped co-found in 2018.

According to Wall Street Journal writers Justin Baer and Hardika Singh, a family spokesperson explained that Bankman was paid by FTX for at least a year while working on charitable projects for the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange. It was also said that Bankman advised SBF before he spoke before the House Financial Services Committee on December 8, 2021.

The reports also note that Bankman advised SBF on legal matters prior to the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing and his resignation. While it is currently unknown whether SBF’s parents had been more involved in SBF’s business affairs, the family faces significant legal bills from the white-collar attorney hired by SBF.