SBF’s sprawling alleged campaign finance scheme detailed

Accused cryptocurrency fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried and his cohorts allegedly used tens of millions of dollars in FTX funds to illegally make more than 300 political donations in a bid to influence legislation for his own gain, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday.

The 30-year-old alleged crypto crook is accused in a new 12-count indictment in Manhattan federal court of siphoning off FTX’s customer cash and allegedly diverting it to his Alameda Research hedge fund so the unlawful contributions could be made.

The indictment, which includes the new charge of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and other counts, alleges that Bankman-Fried carried out his campaign finance scheme, in part, to boost his standing in Washington, DC — and “curry favor” with candidates who could help pass legislation favorable to his and FTX’s agenda.

The hundreds of “substantial” political contributions were made to both Democratic and Republican campaigns because Bankman-Fried was conscious of not being known as “left-leaning” but also didn’t want his name publicly attached to GOP candidates, the filing alleges.

In those instances, the indictment alleges that the shaggy-haired accused scammer and his cohorts made those donations in the names of two other FTX executives. The contributions were made directly to candidates but with FTX and Alameda funds, according to the indictment.

At one point last year ahead of the midterm elections, Bankman-Fried and his co-conspirators agreed to contribute at least $1 million to a super PAC supporting an unnamed Democratic congressional candidate who was affiliated with pro-LGBTQ issues, the filing says.

Bankman-Fried allegedly enlisted a political consultant to ask one of the FTX executives to make the donation in their name because “you being the center left face of our spending will mean you giving to a lot of woke s–t for transactional purposes.”

The executive was uncomfortable about making the donation in his name but agreed there was no one “trusted at FTX [who was] bi/gay” in a position to make the contribution, the indictment said.

“In total, between in or about the fall of 2021 and the November 2022 election, [Bankman-Fried] and the two FTX executives who served as straw donors as part of his scheme … collectively made millions of dollars in contributions, including in ‘hard money’ contributions to federal candidates from both major political parties,” the filing says.

According to the indictment, the contributions were unlawful because they were made with corporate funds or in the name of a “straw donor,” which is when someone illegally uses another person’s money to make a political contribution.

“In dozens of instances, Bankman-Fried’s use of straw donors allowed him to evade contribution limits on individual donations to candidates to whom he had already donated,” the filing said.

Overall, the new indictment contains four fraud charges and eight conspiracy charges.

A rep for Bankman-Fried wouldn’t comment about the new indictment when reached by The Post on Thursday.

The alleged fraudster was previously hit with eight counts of fraud, money laundering and other charges over the $8 billion-plus collapse of his now-bankrupt exchange.

He has pleaded not guilty to those charges.