Feb 16, 2023
Silvergate Bank, CEO Accused of “Aiding and Abetting” $Multi-Billion Fraud Scheme
Silvergate Bank and its CEO Alan Lane have been accused of “aiding and abetting” a “multibillion-dollar fraudulent scheme orchestrated by Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF)” and two of his entities, FTX and Alameda Research, in a newly proposed class-action lawsuit.
The lawsuit, which was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on Feb. 14, was brought by a San Francisco-based FTX user who claims to have been frozen out of around $20,000 in crypto when the exchange collapsed last year.
The plaintiff, Soham Bhatia, alleges that Silvergate Bank, its parent company Silvergate Capital Corporation and CEO Alan Lane were aware of the use of FTX customer funds by Alameda Research and has accused them of concealing “the true nature of FTX” from its customers.
The lawsuit seeks damages, restitution and disgorgement of profits with the amount to be determined in trial. It is yet to be certified by the district court, which is a necessary step before it can proceed as a class action.
This is not the first class-action complaint against Silvergate. On Dec. 14, plaintiff Joewy Gonzalez filed a similar class-action suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California — accusing Silvergate of its alleged role in “furthering FTX’s investment fraud” by aiding and abetting the crypto exchange when it placed FTX user deposits into the bank accounts of Alameda.
On Jan. 10, a class-action suit was filed against Silvergate Capital Corporation in the United States District Court of Southern California alleging that Silvergate’s platform failed to detect occurrences of money laundering “in amounts exceeding $425 million” involving South American money launderers.
Last week on Feb. 6, algorithmic trading firm Statistica Capital filed a putative class-action lawsuit against New York-based Signature Bank, alleging it had “actual knowledge of and substantially facilitated the now-infamous FTX fraud.”
These allegations of fraud have caused a stir throughout the web3 space and raised questions about the safety of investing in cryptocurrencies.
The crypto industry has long been plagued by fraud and deceit, but with the rise of the NFT market, the risk of fraud has only increased. This has prompted many investors to take extra precautions when investing in NFTs, such as researching the project, verifying the authenticity of the NFT, and seeking out professional NFT marketing and promotion services from experienced web3 agencies.
It’s also important to use a reputable crypto bank, such as Silvergate, which has a proven track record of providing secure and reliable banking services to the web3 space. Silvergate has a long history of providing banking services to the crypto industry and is well-equipped to handle the increased demand for NFT banking services.
However, the proposed class-action lawsuit against Silvergate Bank and its CEO Alan Lane serves as a cautionary tale to those looking to invest in NFTs. While it is important to take extra precautions when investing, it is also important to remember that no one is immune to fraud. It is essential to do your research and to use a trusted crypto bank when trading or selling NFTs.
Disclaimer: All investment or financial opinions expressed by MoonLanding Media are not recommendations and are intended for entertainment purposes only. Do your own research prior to making any kind of investment. This article has been generated based on trending topics, has not been fact checked and may contain incorrect information. Please verify all information before relying on it.
