Sam Bankman-Fried spent $200M in FTX customer funds on investments, feds say

Indicted FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried used customer cash from sister firm Alameda Research to invest $200 million in two separate companies, according to a report.

One of Bankman-Fried’s investments went toward the banking app Dave, which disclosed a $100 million windfall last March that purportedly came from FTX Ventures, CNBC reported on Wednesday.

The other $100 million investment backed Mysten Labs, a Web3 firm focused on digital infrastructure, according to the business network.

The pair of $100 million investments was referenced in the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s complaint outlining charges against Bankman-Fried, who is accused of bilking FTX customers out of billions of dollars.

The outlet said the two $100 million deals were the only ones of their size disclosed by FTX. The feds accuse Bankman-Fried and other former FTX executives of using customer funds as their own personal piggy bank and pilfering the money to cover risky bets placed by Alameda, his cryptocurrency hedge fund, to pay for their lavish lifestyle.

In its complaint, the SEC referenced the two investments to support its assertion that Bankman-Fried hid the truth about FTX’s “tenuous financial condition” and “continued to present a false and misleading positive account of the company to investors.”

In one meeting with investors in FTX’s US operation, the feds said, FTX inaccurately claimed that “certain investments did not involve the assets of FTX or its customers.”

“Contrary to that representation, two $100 million investments made by FTX’s affiliated investment vehicle, FTX Ventures Ltd., were funded with FTX customer funds that had been diverted to Alameda,” the complaint said.

Mysten Labs and Dave have not been accused of any wrongdoing in connection to the FTX case. Bankman-Fried faces eight federal charges that could carry a maximum of 115 years in prison.

Dave CEO Jason Wilk told CNBC that it was “important to state we had no knowledge of FTX or Alameda using customer assets to make investments.”

The $100 million came in the form of a short-term loan that FTX could later convert into shares in the company.

“The note issued to FTX is due for repayment in March 2026,” the company said in a statement. “No terms contained in the note trigger any current obligation by Dave to repay prior to the maturity date.”

Meanwhile, FTX acquired an equity stake in Mysten with its $100 million investment. Mysten declined CNBC’s request for comment.

Earlier this month, current FTX CEO John Ray said the company would seek to claw back Bankman-Fried’s investments and political donations that used customer funds as part of ongoing bankruptcy efforts.

As The Post reported, a group of four FTX customers filed a class-action lawsuit against the firm and its affiliates this week. The suit asked a bankruptcy judge for FTX’s remaining assets to be considered the property of bamboozled customers rather than the firm.