In a recent post on X, the former US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) official, John Reed Stark, expressed his concern and utter confusion regarding the involvement of Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents in the FTX trial, not as defendants but as criminal conspirators.
Why has this caught everyone’s attention? Read on!
Reed’s Concern
John Reed Stark has an extensive experience in the field of law. Having worked for almost 20 years in the US SEC Division of Enforcement, including 11 honorable years as the Chief of SEC’s Office of Internet Enforcement, Mr. Stark has expressed his concerns regarding the numerous SEC-crypto-related lawsuits.
Stark initiated his post on X by raising a critical question: Why have Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents not been named as defendants in the FTX trial? He suggests that, at the very least, they should be considered ‘relief defendants.’
Even recently, John Deaton expressed his concern on why and how the SEC has charged Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents as co-conspirators in the FTX case.
Read More: US SEC to Make Major Decisions This Week!
Peculiar Developments
In his X post, John Reed Stark continued to express his growing bewilderment over the present working of the US Department of Justice and the SEC. He particularly mentions the “extraordinary dearth” of crypto-related criminal cases, including nearly 200 crypto-enforcement actions the SEC took.
The number of cases and their frequency is “mind-boggling,” making law enforcement actions against crypto a piece of common day-to-day news.
Winklevoss’s Commentary
Mr. Stark also mentions the critical comment made by the CEO of Gemini Cryptocurrency Exchange – Tyler Winklevoss. After the SEC charged Gemini and Genesis with a $900 million fund crisis, the Winklevoss twins took to the internet and called the SEC charges “super lame” and compared them to “manufactured parking tickets.”
Stark also commented on the recent SEC charges on Coinbase and Binance.
“Coinbase and Binance have touted their SEC charges like badges of honor (laughing all the way to the bank)”.
Urgent Need for Action
The former SEC official clarifies the reality that the SEC is “merely a civil enforcement agency.” The enforcement prosecutions against crypto led by the SEC have become so common that unless and until the crypto-grifters are faced with serious prosecution by the US Department of Justice, that is, prison time, they will continue to treat SEC allegations and liability charges as “another liability item on their balance sheets.”
He concludes his post with a serious concernful one-liner – “Wake up US DOJ, we need you buddy.”
Read More: Attention, FTX Users! File Your Claim Before September 29th
Source: https://coinpedia.org/news/former-sec-official-john-reed-stark-raises-concerns-about-ftx-trial-and-secs-approach-to-crypto-cases/