Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has likened former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried to notorious American fraudster Bernie Madoff and accused the media of giving the previous FTX CEO a “free cross.”

Bernard Lawrence Madoff was the mastermind behind the biggest recognized Ponzi rip-off in historical past, estimated to be value $64.8 billion. At one level, Madoff served because the Nasdaq inventory trade’s chairman.

Hoskinson mentioned that the media’s consideration to SBF, regardless of public proof about SBF and FTX being concerned in misappropriating and stealing buyer funds, exhibits how corrupt the entire system has turn out to be.

In an X (previously Twitter) publish on Oct. 9, Hoskinson lashed out on the media frenzy round SBF after the FTX collapse. Hoskinson first known as out creator Michael Lewis, whose e-book on SBF has gained numerous media traction simply days main as much as the previous FTX CEO’s trial, labeling it an “apology tour.”

The Cardano founder famous that there appears to be a “group of people that need to get a public exoneration for SBF,” adding:

“We noticed this with the child gloves therapy by the New York Instances and now a e-book that’s an apology tour. It’s extraordinary to me that the Bernie Madoff of my era is getting a free cross from the media. It does present you ways profoundly corrupt issues have turn out to be particularly you probably have the precise mates.”

FTX was the third-largest crypto trade on the time of its crash in November 2022, having raised a multimillion-dollar funding spherical within the first quarter. SBF on the time blamed exterior market circumstances and a liquidity crunch for the downfall. Nonetheless, as a number of United States enforcement businesses started investigations into the failed crypto trade, they mirrored a really completely different image.

Because of the probes, Bankman-Fried was charged with seven counts of conspiracy and fraud associated to the autumn of FTX, to which he has pleaded not responsible. Choose Lewis Kaplan is overseeing the case.

The jury trial started final week. Testimony in the course of the first week of the trial confirmed that Alameda Analysis, a buying and selling firm arrange by SBF earlier than he began the FTX trade, had a secret backdoor into FTX for funneling prospects’ funds as early as 2019.

Associated: Sam Bankman-Fried goes on trial: A week in review

Recent info rising from the felony trial in opposition to Bankman-Fried has revealed that he lavished thousands and thousands of {dollars} on creating a picture by way of aggressive PR spending. The previous CEO reportedly paid the likes of Tom Brady and businessman Kevin O’Leary thousands and thousands of {dollars} to purchase just a few days of their time.

“He didn’t purchase a yacht, did he?”

Issues SBF did purchase:

$100 million naming rights to a stadium
$25 million Tremendous Bowl advert
$55 million for Tom Brady’s time
$10 million for Larry David’s time
$300 million in luxurious actual property
$80 million for politicians
$30 million for personal jets

— H.E. Cas Piancey (@CasPiancey) October 6, 2023

Different extravagances included non-public jets, Tremendous Bowl adverts and paying politicians. One excerpt from Lewis’ e-book claimed SBF was pondering paying Donald Trump $5 billion to not run for workplace.

The first week of the trial, which started on Oct. 3, centered on the disappearance of $8 billion of FTX buyer funds. Along with testimony from Gary Wang, the primary week noticed each the prosecution and the protection state their arguments, in addition to testimony from Adam Yedidia on Oct. 5.

Cointelegraph reporters are on the bottom in New York for the trial of former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried. Because the saga unfolds, check here for the latest updates.

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