{"id":1771016,"date":"2022-12-10T06:07:08","date_gmt":"2022-12-10T11:07:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1771016"},"modified":"2022-12-10T07:33:20","modified_gmt":"2022-12-10T12:33:20","slug":"rep-bill-huizenga-ftx-collapse-a-combination-of-bad-business-decisions-fraud-and-possible-money-laundering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rep-bill-huizenga-ftx-collapse-a-combination-of-bad-business-decisions-fraud-and-possible-money-laundering\/","title":{"rendered":"Rep. Bill Huizenga: FTX Collapse a Combination of Bad Business Decisions, Fraud, and Possible Money Laundering"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frep-bill-huizenga-ftx-collapse-a-combination-of-bad-business-decisions-fraud-and-possible-money-laundering%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1771016&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The crash of the crypto trading company, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-ftx\">FTX<\/a>, sent shockwaves throughout the digital exchange world. Billions are missing, and companies with ties to FTX, like BlockFi, Genesis, Coinbase, and others, are filing for bankruptcy or struggling to survive.<\/p>\n<p>In response to the crypto debacle, the U.S. House Financial Services Committee announced its plan to investigate FTX. And while its start date isn\u2019t until Dec. 13, there are already reports that FTX founder and CEO <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-sam-bankman-fried\">Sam Bankman-Fried<\/a>\u2014or SBF, as he\u2019s known\u2014may be playing fast and loose with the facts.<\/p>\n<p>In an interview that aired on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ntd.com\/newsmakers-dec-7-effects-of-china-covid-lockdown-protests_886799.html\">Newsmakers<\/a>\u00a0by NTD and The Epoch Times on Dec. 7, Ranking Member of the Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship, and Capital Markets Subcommittee, Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), stated that despite claiming on Twitter that he planned to attend upcoming Finance Committee hearings, SBF is not scheduled to attend the upcoming meeting.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3539441\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2020\/10\/14\/Rep.-Bill-Huizenga--1200x675.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy wp-image-3539441 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" data-src=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2020\/10\/14\/Rep.-Bill-Huizenga--1200x675.jpeg\" alt=\"Rep. Bill Huizenga\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"     style=\"display:none\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3539441 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2020\/10\/14\/Rep.-Bill-Huizenga--1200x675.jpeg\" alt=\"Rep. Bill Huizenga\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" \/><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.) speaks on the floor of the House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on April 23, 2020. (House Television via AP)<\/figure>\n<p>\u201cWe have a hearing that is Dec. 13,\u201d Huizenga said, raising his eyebrows. \u201cIt is my understanding that [SBF] is NOT going to be there. If that changes, great!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt the end of the day, this looks like it was the worst business practices of Enron and the Bernie Madoff situation, and they got together\u2014and the product was Sam Bankman-Fried. It\u2019s got all the hallmarks of both bad business decisions as well as fraud,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n<h2>SBF and FTX Investigation<\/h2>\n<p>According to Huizenga, there\u2019s a lot that SBF needs to answer, and one of the questions he\u2019d like to ask is what SBF was doing behind the scenes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to ask, specifically, what was the work being done behind the scenes with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), for example. I want to know what those conversations were,\u201d Huizenga said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[SBF] was seemingly, and looking like, he was trying to cut a deal, and create a sort of regulatory environment that would be beneficial to him, not necessarily to the technology or to the rest of the crypto world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Huizenga added that the SEC question is at the top of the fraud questions he wants to ask.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4637269\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/08\/2.tagreuters.com2022binary_LYNXMPEI700YA-FILEDIMAGE-1200x800.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy wp-image-4637269 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" data-src=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/08\/2.tagreuters.com2022binary_LYNXMPEI700YA-FILEDIMAGE-1200x800.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4637269 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/08\/2.tagreuters.com2022binary_LYNXMPEI700YA-FILEDIMAGE-1200x800.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> The headquarters of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Washington on May 12, 2021. (Andrew Kelly\/File Photo\/Reuters)<\/figure>\n<p>When asked what went wrong with FTX and the billions in missing funds, Huizenga replied, \u201cWell! Let\u2019s start with no board of directors! No accountability! No accounting standards! Clearly comingling of funds! There\u2019s a myriad of things.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But setting the concerning business practices aside, Huizenga underscored, \u201cYou have to ask yourself, the comingling [of funds]. The looking like the Ponzi scheme of Bernie Madoff. [FTX] just has all those hallmarks. And so, was this just outright fraud from Sam Bankman-Fried? I can\u2019t come up with an answer other than \u2018Yes\u2019 at this point.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Of further note, Huizenga alleged, is the question of whether FTX was a money laundering scheme for political donations.<\/p>\n<p>Taking direct aim at current Finance Committee Chairwoman, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and a <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/repmaxinewaters\/status\/1598693811252875264\">Twitter<\/a> post she sent out praising SBF\u2019s \u201ccandid\u201d answers, Huizenga said, \u201cThere\u2019s stories and rumors about [Waters] spending time down in the Bahamas with [SBF]. And, you know, with the Bahamian authorities. \u2026 There\u2019s a lot of questions that have not been answered, that need to be asked.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2599229\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2018\/07\/20\/GettyImages-903066644-1200x774.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy wp-image-2599229 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" data-src=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2018\/07\/20\/GettyImages-903066644-1200x774.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"640\" height=\"413\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2599229 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2018\/07\/20\/GettyImages-903066644-1200x774.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"640\" height=\"413\" \/><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) looks on before speaking on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 9, 2018. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds\/AFP\/Getty Images)<\/figure>\n<p>As for the political donations and possible money laundering, Huizenga said, \u201cClearly, [SBF\u2019s] lean was to the left, and the hard left, and who he bankrolled. So, that, you know, $38 million dollars [in donations] was the second [largest donation amount] behind George Soros in total dollars that went to the Democrat party in this last election.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Luckily, Huizenga quantified, while Waters is currently chair of the Finance Committee, and her impartiality may be in question, Republicans gained control of the House after the midterm elections. As such, Waters is losing her position to a Republican on Jan. 3.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRepublicans are going to be in control, and \u2026\u00a0 [Rep.] Patrick McHenry [of North Carolina], who is our Ranking Member now, this evening was named chair, so he is going to be controlling [the investigation],\u201d Huizenga said.<\/p>\n<p>Huizenga also said he\u2019s part of the leadership team overseeing the investigation and stated unequivocally, \u201cWe\u2019re not going to let Maxine Waters, or anybody else, get in the way of asking these questions and getting answers.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>FTX Collapse<\/h2>\n<p>SBF founded FTX in 2019. Before its collapse, FTX was one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world.<\/p>\n<p>At its peak, FTX was valued at $32 billion, while SBF\u2019s net worth peaked at an estimated $26 billion. SBF was the second-largest individual donor to President Joe Biden in the 2020 election and donated almost $40 million during the 2022 election.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s believed that most of SBF\u2019s political donations went to Democrats, but SBF has claimed he donated to Republicans equally. In contrast to his claim, data from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.opensecrets.org\/outside-spending\/top_donors\">OpenSecrets<\/a> reports 99.6 percent of SBF\u2019s donations went to \u201cLiberals,\u201d while 0.4 percent went to \u201cConservatives.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4869965\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/11\/17\/FTX@2x-1200x720.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy wp-image-4869965 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" data-src=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/11\/17\/FTX@2x-1200x720.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"640\" height=\"384\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4869965 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/11\/17\/FTX@2x-1200x720.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"640\" height=\"384\" \/><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> Illustration by The Epoch Times. (Craig Barritt\/Getty Images)<\/figure>\n<p>Still, data from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.opensecrets.org\/orgs\/ftx-us\/recipients?id=D000073694\">OpenSecrets<\/a> shows the company FTX donated equally to Republicans and Democrats.<\/p>\n<p>On\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SBF_FTX\">Twitter<\/a>, SBF has admitted to being overconfident and careless but also stated he\u2019s committed to \u201cdo right by customers.\u201d He further claimed that the FTX collapse and how it unraveled was a shock to him as well.<\/p>\n<p>SBF did not respond to The Epoch Times\u2019 request for comment by the time of publication.<\/p>\n<div class=\"author_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"one_author_block round\">\n<div class=\"top_row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/author-katie-spence\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/07\/29\/WEB_KatieSpence.jpg\" alt=\"Katie Spence\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Follow<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Katie covers energy and politics for The Epoch Times. Before starting her career as a journalist, Katie proudly served in the Air Force as an Airborne Operations Technician on JSTARS. She obtained her degree in Analytic Philosophy and a minor in Cognitive Studies from the University of Colorado. Katie\u2019s writing has appeared on CNSNews.com, The Maverick Observer, The Motley Fool, First Quarter Finance, The Cheat Sheet, and Investing.com. Email her at katie.spence@epochtimes.us<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The crash of the crypto trading company, FTX, sent shockwaves throughout the digital exchange world. Billions are missing, and companies with ties to FTX, like BlockFi, Genesis, Coinbase, and others,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1898998,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[547],"tags":[7086,5458,4284,7385,7384,5733,6909,7334,7505,7383,4755,7129,3819],"class_list":["post-1771016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bongino-report","tag-bad","tag-bongino","tag-business","tag-collapse","tag-combination","tag-decisions","tag-fraud","tag-ftx","tag-huizenga","tag-laundering","tag-money","tag-rep","tag-report"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1771016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1771016"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1771016\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1898998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1771016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1771016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1771016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}