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Former FTX Chief Regulatory Officer, Daniel Friedberg, was allegedly involved in covering up a $50 million online poker cheating scandal.
Friedberg also gave the maximum allowable donation to GOP House member George Santos’ campaign last year.
He is cooperating with federal prosecutors probing FTX and Alameda Research, per Reuters.
FTX’s former chief regulatory officer Daniel Friedberg has ties to multiple affairs in addition to the fallen crypto exchange, including controversy-plagued Congressman George Santos and an infamous online-poker scandal.
The Seattle-based attorney reportedly had four roles in his two-year stint working in Sam Bankman-Fried’s once-$32 billion crypto operation, according to CNBC. He served as legal counsel for Alameda Research, the sister trading firm that’s been accused of misusing billions worth of FTX customer deposits.
Besides connections to what US prosecutors have called “one of the biggest financial frauds in American history,” Friedberg was reportedly involved in another controversy that shook up an entire industry — the online poker world.
The 52 year old was an exec at a Canadian software company called Excapsa, whose poker platform had a role in a long-running cheating scandal that exploited $50 million from players, including actor Ben Affleck. The poker website, Ultimate Bet, later confirmed that the cheating had taken place on the platform, adding that an “unfair advantage” was given to certain players, which allowed them to see their opponents’ cards.
“The individuals responsible were found to have worked for the previous ownership of Ultimate Bet [or Excapsa],” the company.
Along with other former Excapsa execs, Friedberg was recorded in a conversation about covering up the cheating scheme, industry trade publication PokerNews reported in 2013.
Donation to George Santos’ campaign
Similar to many FTX higher-ups, Friedberg gave money to aspiring politicians. He gave the maximum allowable $5,800 to Santos’ campaign in the New York Republican’s run for office last June, The Seattle Times first reported.
Friedberg almost never made political donation prior to Santos, but several FTX executives also gave money to the beleaguered GOP House member, according to the news outlet, citing Federal Election Commission filings.
“Obviously he’s a terrible candidate but this was unknown to me at the time,” Friedberg said in an email to The Seattle Times, adding that he only contributed because of a friend’s recommendation.
Santos now faces criminal and ethics probes around his falsified resume and campaign finances. The newly-elected Republican has also been accused of taking thousands of dollars from a homeless veteran’s GoFundMe account, which was raising funds for his sick service dog.
In terms of the ex-regulatory chief’s involvement in FTX’s alleged wrongdoings, he is working with US prosecutors, according to a Reuters report. Elsewhere, Friedberg was listed in a class action lawsuit, alleging that the former exec was “instrumental in perpetrating [FTX’s] nefarious activities, in part by helping to cover up any indications that the FTX scheme was unraveling.”
Friedberg could not be reached for comment.