As FTX’s malpractices continue to surface and are uncovered by prosecution, it turns out that customers of the disgraced cryptocurrency exchange were sending money to a fake online e-shop, which was reportedly started by Sam Bankman-Fried.
In his complaint, filed on December 13, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) named North Dimension Inc, an Alameda affiliate that was a vital part of FTX’s financial malpractice. According to the complaint, Bankman-Fried directed FTX to have customers send funds to North Dimension bank accounts, in an effort to hide the fact that the funds were being sent to an account controlled by Alameda.
But the most peculiar thing about the company, registered at the same California address as FTX US, is its fake website. Available now only through WebArchive, the site appears to be an electronics outlet. However, there is no proof that anything can actually be purchased in North Dimension.
Clicking on any item, for example a $1,199 MacBook Pro with a 13-inch screen, takes you to the “Get a Quote” page, where you can leave your message and contacts on the website. As the text on the page says, “We collaborate with brands and ambitious people; we would love to build something great together.”
The site also boasts of collaborating with the “world’s best brands”, but the logos featured in the partner section will hardly look familiar to anyone looking to buy a laptop or smartphone.
The icing on the cake is undoubtedly the “About us” section of the website, the texts of which could be written by a not very intelligent artificial intelligence.
After being released on $250 million bail, SBF has reportedly been collecting large amounts of cryptocurrency. According to on-chain research by DeFi educator BowTiedIguana, he cashed out $684,000 worth of cryptocurrency on an exchange in Seychelles.
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