Stanford University Plans to Return Over $5 Million in Donations to FTX
- FTX accused Bankman-Fried’s parents of donating over $5 million to Stanford University.
- Stanford says it will return the entire donations to FTX.
- Court documents showed that Joe Bankman-Fried was dissatisfied with his $200k annual salary at FTX, which was far below the $1 million he anticipated.
Stanford University is reportedly set to return the millions it received in donations from FTX. This comes hours after reports emerged that FTX had sued Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents, Joe and Barbara, who both worked as professors at the prestigious school.
The school said it received gifts from Bankman-Fried’s failed exchange through the FTX Foundation and FTX-affiliated businesses. A representative of the university revealed that the donations were intended “largely for pandemic-related prevention and research.”
The Stanford representative added that the school has been “in discussions with attorneys for the FTX debtors to recover these gifts and will be returning the funds in their entirety.”
FTX claimed that Joe and Barbara stole millions of dollars from the FTX Group for personal gain and charities. Additionally, the pair was charged with spending $18.9 million of FTX funds on a 30,000-square-foot luxury home in the Bahamas, which was then equipped and maintained with the help of an additional $90,000 in FTX cash.
Bankman-Fried’s parents have denied FTX’s claims as false. Their lawyers claimed that the lawsuit was a “dangerous attempt to intimidate Joe and Barbara and undermine the jury process just days before their child’s trial begins.”
FTX and Bankman-Fried’s trading company, Alameda Research, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2022. Following the collapse, Bankman-Fried gave up his position as CEO. He was later accused of using FTX customer funds to support Alameda Research.
Bankman-Fried is set to be tried on multiple charges of fraud. While he previously claimed his parents were not involved in the saga, FTX’s filing proves otherwise.
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