Sam Bankman-Fried Says FTX Was Never Bankrupt, Blames Lawyers

Sam Bankman-Fried is talking again. The convicted FTX founder posted on X today, claiming he never filed for bankruptcy and that lawyers forced it to cash in.

“FTX was never bankrupt. I never filed for it,” SBF wrote. “The lawyers took over the company and 4 hours later they filed a bogus bankruptcy so they could pilfer it for money.”

He backed that up with a sworn court filing from January 2023.

What the Court Filing Says

The document lays out conversations between SBF and attorney Mr. Miller before the bankruptcy was filed.

SBF said he told Miller that FTX.US should not file because the tech team had already checked the wallets and confirmed FTX.US was not affected by the customer deficit. He wanted FTX.US kept alive and sold to pay back shareholders.

But according to SBF, Miller said Sullivan & Cromwell (S&C) needed FTX.US included in the filing because “FTX.US had the cash to pay S&C its retainer.” Without that money, S&C would not file.

Miller also told SBF that S&C was “installing S&C’s guy” to run all the companies and pointed to over $200 million in LedgerX cash that would cover legal costs.

The Tweet That Started It

SBF’s post was a direct response to Bitcoin trader Alex Wice, who called the FTX trial a “kangaroo court.” Wice argued that Judge Kaplan blocked key defense evidence, including solvency data and the “relied on lawyers” defense that could have removed intent from the case.

Wice also claimed former FTX executive Ryan Salame was jailed simply for refusing to testify against SBF.

SBF responded: “Agree with almost all of this.”

SBF Alleges Misconduct

A day earlier, SBF posted a separate thread claiming prosecutors deliberately hid evidence from the jury that would have helped his case. He said a prosecutor who was later fired under Trump had documented the hidden material.

He also alleged that Salame was threatened with made-up charges and that prosecutors pressured his pregnant fiancee to force a guilty plea.

SBF is currently serving a 25-year sentence after being found guilty on seven federal fraud charges tied to FTX’s $8 billion loss.

His recent posts frame the entire case as “lawfare”.