Former Bankman-Fried executive seeks leniency for building fraud detection tool
Details about the software tools were redacted from the court filing
A former FTX executive, charged with writing computer code for his imprisoned former boss Sam Bankman-Fried in order to help him steal billions of dollars from cryptocurrency customers, has helped the U.S. government uncover stock market fraud.
Gary Wang has built software that will not only uncover stock market fraud but also help spot crypto crime, according to a court filing Wednesday seeking leniency for the FTX's former chief technology officer at his Nov. 20 sentencing.
"The tool has sufficient potential value to the government," the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan said. "Wang's willingness to use his skills proactively, to help detect other criminal activity in financial markets, distinguishes his cooperation."
NAMES OF COLLAPSED CRYPTOCURRENCY FTX CUSTOMERS CAN REMAIN SECRET, BANKRUPTCY JUDGE RULES
FTX co-founder and former Chief Technology Officer Gary Wang leaves Manhattan Federal Court after testifying during the trial of FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, on Oct. 10, 2023, in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Wang is the last of Bankman-Fried’s former inner circle to receive a sentence after the collapse.
Bankman-Fried is serving a 25-year prison sentence, his former girlfriend Caroline Ellison was sentenced to two years behind bars and Nishad Singh, another FTX computer programmer, was spared prison time.
The FTX Cryptocurrency Derivatives Exchange logo on a laptop screen arranged in Riga, Latvia, Nov. 24, 2022. The implosion of Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX empire dealt a harsh blow to the Bahamas ambitions to be a hub for the crypto industry, and caused m (Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Wang has said that his former boss instructed him to give Alameda special privileges by adjusting FTX software code. This allowed the withdrawal of billions of dollars.
Wang’s lawyer is asking that his client not receive prison time due to his assistance.
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Details about the software tools were redacted from the court filing because it would undermine their effectiveness, according to prosecutors.