Former SEC Official John Reed Stark Raises Concerns About FTX Trial and SEC’s Approach to Crypto Cases

The post Former SEC Official John Reed Stark Raises Concerns About FTX Trial and SEC’s Approach to Crypto Cases appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News

In a recent post on X, the former US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) official, John Reed Stark, expressed his concern and utter confusion in adding Sam Bankman-Fired parents as criminal conspirators in the FTX trial, not as defendants of Bankman-Fried. 

John Reed Stark has an extensive experience in the field of law. Having worked for almost 20 years in the US SEC Division of Enforcement, including 11 honorable years as the Chief of SEC’s Office of Internet Enforcement, Mr. Stark has expressed his concerns regarding the numerous SEC-crypto-related lawsuits. 

What is His Main Concern?

Start his post on X voicing his concern about why Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents have not been filed as defendants in the FTX trial case. He says that SBF’s parents should be at least named as ‘relief defendants’, implying that he thinks positively of Sam’s parents and that they were not involved in the FTC fraud case. 

Even recently, John Deaton expressed his concern on why and how the SEC has charged Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents as co-conspirators in the FTX case. 

Stark’s Concern Regarding US DOJ, SEC

In his X post, John Reed Stark continued to express his growing bewilderment over the present working of the US Department of Justice and the SEC. He particularly mentions the “extraordinary dearth” of crypto-related criminal cases, including nearly 200 crypto-enforcement actions the SEC took. 

The number of cases and their frequency is “mind-boggling,” making law enforcement actions against crypto a piece of common day-to-day news. 

Mr. Stark also mentions the critical comment made by the CEO of Gemini Cryptocurrency Exchange – Tyler Winklevoss. After the SEC charged Gemini and Genesis with a $900 million fund crisis, the Winklevoss twins took to the internet and called SEC charges “super lame” and compared them to “manufactured parking tickets.”

Stark also commented on the recent SEC charges on Coinbase and Binance.

He says, “Coinbase and Binance have touted their SEC charges like badges of honor (laughing all the way to the bank)”. 

Need for Action 

The former SEC official clarifies the stark reality that the SEC is “merely a civil enforcement agency.” The enforcement prosecutions against crypto led by the SEC have become so common that unless and until the crypto-grifters are faced with serious prosecution by the US Department of Justice, that is, prison time, they will continue to treat SEC allegations and liability charges as “another liability item on their balance sheets.” 

He concludes his post with a serious concernful one-liner – “Wake up US DOJ, we need you buddy.”