Federal prosecutors seized $50 million that Sam Bankman-Fried held in the one-branch Farmington State Bank, a small Washington-based bank that had only three employees before the disgraced FTX founder made the investment.
Feds Seize SBF’s $50 Million Held in Farmington Bank
In a recent court filing detailing the continuous seizure of assets belonging to Sam Bankman-Fried, Federal prosecutors revealed they had recovered $50 million the former FTX boss held in Farmington State – a bank known in the local community for 135 years.
According to reports, the one-branch bank had only three employees at the time of Bankman-Fried’s account creation. The Washington-based bank specialized in agricultural loans to farmers until March 2022.
SBF’s Relationship with Farmington
In March 2022, Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Research bought an $11.5 million stake in Farmington – more than double the bank’s entire net worth. Just days before the investment, Farmington trademarked the name “Moonstone.”
Moonstone was to become a crypto-focused financial services firm to “support the evolution of next-generation finance.” In November, the bank would report a $115 million valuation with 32 employees.
The bank, which didn’t offer online banking or credit cards, listed Moonstone Bank as an online bank in Q4 of 2022. On January 18, Farmington retired the name “Moonstone Bank,” citing “the impact of recent events in the crypto assets industry.”
On the Flipside
- The Feds seized $700 million from Bankman-Fried, including $100 million in an account with Silvergate Capital and $21 million with ED&F Man Capital Markets.
Why You Should Care
The seizure of funds from Farmington is part of the Fed’s efforts to track down assets held by Bankman-Fried, who pleaded not guilty to eight fraud charges.
SBF’s plea is covered in:
Sam Bankman-Fried Pleads Not Guilty to Fraud, Requests for Guarantors to Be Kept Private
Read more on the case below:
FTX Recovers $5 billion in Liquid Assets to Repay Customers, But Extent of Loss Still Unknown
