Oregon secretary of state reviews donation made by disgraced cryptocurrency company to state Democrats

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Federal prosecutors aren’t the only ones investigating Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder of cryptocurrency exchange firm, FTX.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, center, is escorted out of the trial court in a misdemeanor van, following a hearing in Nassau, Bahamas, Monday, Dec. 19, 2022.

Rebecca Blackwell/AP

The Oregon secretary of state is also investigating whether there was any wrongdoing surrounding a $500,000 contribution by the company to the state’s Democratic party.

Secretary of State Shemia Fagan asked the Division of Elections to take a closer look at the donation after The Oregonian/OregonLive reported that the contribution did not actually come from Prime Trust, which is how Party officials Democrats pointed this out in their campaign finance materials. Instead, Prime Trust was just a middleman and the donation actually came from Nishad Singh, a former director of engineering at FTX.

We play the initial fact-finding role. If we find something, we turn it over to the Department of Justice, said Ben Morris of the Oregon secretary of state’s office.

It is a crime to make a campaign contribution under a false name. The Elections Division is considering three likely options, according to Morris: whether Singh misled Democratic Party members when the donation was made, whether someone within the Oregon Democratic Party fraudulently published the contribution or if it was an honest mistake.

The secretary of state’s office has been investigating for about a month and investigations often last up to three months, Morris said, adding that this case was a priority for the office.

The Oregon Democratic Party declined to comment, and party officials did not say whether they plan to return the $500,000 contribution.

US regulators have filed civil securities fraud charges against Bankman-Fried, according to a New York Times report last week. Bankman-Fried was accused of misleading investors and was recently arrested at his home in the Bahamas.

Bankman-Fried and his company have spent tens of millions on political campaigns. Prosecutors said the money came from Alameda Research, a hedge fund set up by Bankman-Fried. He is accused of using the money in several different ways, including donating to political candidates and campaigns and violating several campaign finance laws, according to National News.

During the May primary, Bankman-Fried was particularly generous to political newcomer Carrick Flynn who ran in the Democratic primary for Oregon’s new 6th congressional district. Bankman-Fried spent millions on Flynn, transforming him from a largely unknown figure into a player in the running, though he ultimately lost.

Bankman-Frieds’ donations were not sent directly to Flynn, but rather to a political action committee, Protecting Our Future, which helped Flynns campaign by paying for advertisements.

Flynn said in an email that he believed Bankman-Fried supported his campaign because he liked the work Flynn had done on pandemic prevention. Flynn noted that he never had contact with Bankman-Fried. When asked if he had been contacted by investigators, Flynn did not respond.

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