Introduction

Sam Bankman-Fried… boy, is he in serious trouble. He’s been indicted on several counts, with the central accusation being that he defrauded customers, lenders, and equity investors doing business with his now-bankrupt companies, FTX and Alameda Research. Importantly, the story Bankman-Fried has been relentlessly telling about himself is a story the government says is still fraud even if it’s true. Ken and I talk about Bankman-Fried as a masterclass in what-not-to-do as a criminal defendant. He seems woefully unprepared to face parallel civil and criminal actions, especially since he continues to proudly describe how he doesn’t listen to what lawyers tell him to do. He is, quite possibly, a worse client than Donald Trump. But that makes him very interesting! This show is about 20 minutes for free subscribers and 40 minutes for paying subscribers — if you want the whole show and this week’s second show on the rest of the news, upgrade now at www.serioustrouble.show.