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FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried is escorted out of the Magistrate’s Court on December 21, 2022 in Nassau, Bahamas. 

Joe Raedle | Getty Images

FTX co-founder Gary Wang and former Alameda Research co-CEO Caroline Ellison both pleaded guilty to federal charges in the Southern District of New York, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a message Wednesday.

Wang pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud. Ellison pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud, two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Simultaneously, both the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission released civil complaints against them.

The SEC alleged that they were involved “in a multiyear scheme to defraud equity investors in FTX, the crypto trading platform co-founded by Samuel Bankman-Fried and Wang.”

The CFTC’s expanded complaint charges “Ellison with fraud and material misrepresentations in connection with the sale of digital asset commodities in interstate commerce, and charges Wang with fraud in connection with the sale of digital asset commodities in interstate commerce.”

Wang and Ellison accepted the claims made against them, the CFTC statement said. Ellison was singled out in the SEC complaint for engaging in artificial manipulation of FTT, FTX’s self-issued token, as part of a broader effort to boost Alameda Research’s available collateral for lending.

The SEC said that both Ellison and Wang are cooperating with the agency’s ongoing investigation.

Alameda Research was linked to multiple loans from major crypto firms that have now filed for bankruptcy protection, including Voyager Digital and BlockFi Lending.

Williams did not offer specific details on charges against Ellison or Wang. The SEC alleges that both Ellison and Wang, in their respective roles at Alameda and FTX, abetted Bankman-Fried in allegedly defrauding FTX customers.

The SEC alleges that Wang created a software backdoor in FTX’s platform which allowed Alameda to divert customer funds for its own trades. Alameda was led by Bankman-Fried until 2021, when Ellison assumed control alongside Sam Trabucco, who departed from Alameda in August 2022.

Trabucco did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

Ellison, 28, and Wang, 29, become the second and third individuals to be charged in connection with FTX’s multibillion-dollar collapse. Bankman-Fried, 30, was indicted in federal court earlier this month.

“Bankman-Fried and Wang thus gave Alameda and Ellison carte blanche to use FTX customer assets for Alameda’s trading operations and for whatever other purposes Bankman-Fried and Ellison saw fit,” the SEC said. Trabucco, who joined Alameda “in or around 2019,” according to the SEC, was not mentioned in connection with any wrongdoing.

Wang’s attorney said in a statement, “Gary has accepted responsibility for his actions and takes seriously his obligations as a cooperating witness.”

Counsel for Ellison did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment. A spokesperson within the Bankman-Fried camp declined to give comment.

CNBC’s Steven Kopack and Brian Schwartz contributed to this report.

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Amazon tops 100 satellites after weather-delayed Kuiper launch

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Amazon tops 100 satellites after weather-delayed Kuiper launch

After four previous scrubs or delays in a row since August 7th SpaceX launches Amazon KF-02 Kuipeer Satellites after the 5th attempt August 11th 2025 at 8:35 AM SLC-40 Cape Canaveral, Brevard County, Florida USA.

Scott Schilke| SipaUSA |AP

Amazon shipped another batch of internet-beaming satellites into orbit on Monday atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, after four previous launch attempts were interrupted by weather issues.

Monday’s launch is the fourth Kuiper mission, and Amazon now has 102 satellites in orbit.

The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 8:35 a.m. ET. Roughly an hour after launch, SpaceX confirmed all 24 of Amazon’s Kuiper satellites were successfully deployed.

The mission was originally scheduled for last Thursday, but SpaceX was forced to scrub the launch, along with three more attempts over the past few days due to rainfall.

For the second time, Amazon turned to Elon Musk‘s SpaceX, its chief competitor in the low-earth orbit satellite market, for help building out its constellation.

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SpaceX’s Starlink is currently the dominant provider of low-earth orbit satellite internet, with a constellation of roughly 8,000 satellites and about 5 million customers worldwide.

Amazon is racing to get more of its Kuiper satellites into space to meet a deadline set by the Federal Communications Commission.

The FCC requires that Amazon have about 1,600 satellites in orbit by the end of July 2026, with the full 3,236-satellite constellation launched by July 2029.

Amazon has booked up to 83 launches, including three rides with SpaceX.

While the company is still in the early stages of building out its constellation, Amazon has already inked deals with governments as it hopes to begin commercial service later this year.

WATCH: Amazon launches first Kuiper internet satellites into space

Amazon launches first Kuiper internet satellites into space

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Sequoia’s Moritz backs Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan after Trump’s ‘artless bullying’

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Sequoia's Moritz backs Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan after Trump's 'artless bullying'

Michael Moritz, Sequoia Capital

Scott Mlyn | CNBC

Renowned venture capitalist Mike Moritz called on Intel to stand by CEO Lip-Bu Tan after President Donald Trump demanded his resignation last week.

“Trump’s assault has no modern precedent,” Moritz wrote, calling the attack a “vindictive political sideshow.”

Moritz, who spent decades at Sequoia Capital and has known Tan for nearly four decades, highlighted the CEO’s previous turnaround of Cadence Design Systems. Moritz said there is “no one better equipped to transform Intel’s fortunes.”

“Now the Intel board must decide whether to march to the beat of so many other corporate leaders and capitulate to the president’s artless bullying or to set an example for other companies and display some backbone,” he wrote in a piece published in the Financial Times Sunday. “Early signs of defiance are encouraging.”

Tan is set to visit the White House on Monday to assuage concerns about his background and discuss ways that Intel can work with the U.S. government.

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Intel shares were up nearly 5% Monday. The Wall Street Journal was first to report Tan’s White House visit.

In a post to Truth Social last week, Trump called for Tan’s resignation and said the 65-year-old was “highly CONFLICTED.” Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark. has also raised questions over Tan’s ties to Chinese companies and the potential national security risks.

Tan later addressed the “misinformation” in a letter to employees, saying that he has “always operated within the highest legal and ethical standards.”

Moritz joined Sequoia Capital in 1986 and stepped down in 2023. During his tenure, he made successful early bets on the likes of Google and PayPal.

WATCH: Market believes Intel -Trump turmoil will pass, says Intelligent Alpha CEO

Market believes Intel -Trump turmoil will pass, says Intelligent Alpha CEO

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C3 AI stock falls 20% as CEO Siebel calls preliminary sales numbers ‘completely unacceptable’

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C3 AI stock falls 20% as CEO Siebel calls preliminary sales numbers 'completely unacceptable'

The C3.ai logo is seen near a computer motherboard in this illustration taken on Jan. 8, 2024.

Dado Ruvic | Reuters

Shares of the enterprise artificial intelligence company C3 AI tumbled more than 20% Monday after it announced preliminary financial results and a restructuring of its global sales and services organization.

C3 AI said Friday that it expects to report revenue between $70.2 million and $70.4 million for its fiscal first quarter 2026, though those figures are unaudited, preliminary estimates. The company reported $87.2 million in revenue during the same period a year earlier.

Thomas Siebel, C3 AI’s CEO, said in a statement that sales results during the quarter were “completely unacceptable.” He attributed the performance to the “disruptive effect” of the reorganization, as well as his ongoing health issues.

The company expects to report a GAAP loss from operations for the quarter between $124.7 million and $124.9 million, a much wider loss than a year ago, when C3 AI had a loss of $72.59 million.

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“Unfortunately, dealing with these health issues prevented me from participating in the sales process as actively as I have in the past,” Siebel said in a statement. “With the benefit of hindsight, it is now apparent that my active participation in the sales process may have had a greater impact than I previously thought.”

Siebel announced in July that he was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease earlier this year, resulting in “significant visual impairment.” C3 AI’s board and Siebel have kicked off a search for the company’s next chief executive.

C3 AI said its sales and services restructuring is complete, and Siebel said his health has “improved dramatically” except for his vision impairment. He said he is feeling strong and fully engaged, and will work to quickly identify “excellent” CEO candidates.

“I am confident the company is positioned to accelerate going forward,” Siebel said.

The company is scheduled to hold a conference call for first quarter results on Sept. 3 at 5 p.m. ET.

C3 AI CEO Tom Siebel issues warning over AI 'bubble'

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