Per NYT

Sam Bankman-Fried is facing criminal charges but after a recent $5 billion in liquid assets were found by lawyers, the disgraced CEO maintains that he did not steal funds from customers.

With the fall of FTX, customers are scrambling to try and get their funds back from the now-bankrupt crypto exchange. SBF decided to comment that he didn't steal customer funds shortly after news came out that a Delaware bankrupt judge reported $5 billion in liquid assets.

These included $1.7 billion in cash. So far, FTX lawyer Andrew Dietderish said that the assets recovered did not include the $484 million worth of Robinhood shares. So far, SBF said he was willing to contribute his personal shares in the trading platform in exchange for FTX agreeing to help pay his legal fees.

SBF: “I didn’t steal funds, and I certainly didn’t stash billions away... Nearly all of my assets were and still are utilizable to backstop FTX customers.”

Mr. Bankman tried to point out that FTX customers still be "substantially whole" while he maintained his not guilty plea. The bankruptcy of the crypto firm came with an $8 billion hole in the accounts, with questions about where the money went.

Despite maintaining he didn't steal customer money, reports revealed that the disgraced CEO spent $40 million in nine months on hotels, food, and travel. This included a $2,500 frequent lunch expense for him and his staff and other expenses like delivering packages to the Bahamas.

The authorities still claim that SBF used billions of dollars from customer deposits for other purposes. These included funds owned by the customers for investments in other companies, luxury real estate, political contributions, and loans towards Alameda Research.

Despite being arrested in the Bahamas, the FTX founder was released on a $250 million bond and is now staying in his parent's home.

See flow at unusualwhales.com/flow.

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The New York Times