Following the arrest of Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) in the Bahamas last night, the US Department of Justice’s criminal indictment was unsealed today and civil lawsuits have been filed by both the SEC and CFTC. We previously reported on the SEC filing.

Bankman-Fried faces eight counts of criminal fraud. While FTX clients are at the top of the list, the charges also include failure to comply with campaign finance laws.

The charges are:

• Conspiracy to commit wire fraud to customers
• Wire fraud to customers
• Conspiracy to commit wire fraud with Alameda lenders
• Wire Fraud at Alameda Lenders
• Conspiracy to commit commodity fraud
• Conspiracy to commit securities fraud
• Conspiracy to commit money laundering
• Conspiracy to defraud the United States and violate campaign finance laws

Some of the fraud charges apply as of 2019, particularly those related to customer funds, loan, and commodity fraud. In other words, it is alleged that SBF used FTX to commit fraud from the very beginning. We previously described how the use of Alameda’s bank account for FTX client deposits was a huge red flag and could be the basis for a fraud prosecution from day one.

In addition, the CFTC has also filed civil charges against SBF, alleging that customer funds were misappropriated “since the time of FTX’s launch.” Only a small proportion of the money remitted by clients to Alameda was converted into stablecoins, with the rest remaining in Alameda’s bank account. It alleges that Alameda not only used customer cash but also digital assets.

Getting back to the criminal charges, the campaign finance charge relates to failure to comply with the rules about contributing a maximum of $25,000 in a single year when making donations through other parties.

Compared to the SEC’s lawsuit, the criminal charges at this point are much more succinct. One of the few details mentioned about the securities fraud was SBF’s email to a New York investor on September 18, which provided material false information about the company’s financial condition.