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Person

Allan Joseph Bankman

Nationality:

American
Occupation:

Law Professor, Stanford University

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Allan Joseph Bankman, also known as Joe Bankman, is a professor of law at Stanford University, the husband of Barbara Fried, and the father of disgraced and convicted crypto-currency billionaire and Democratic mega-donor Sam Bankman-Fried. 1

Controversies

Ties to Arabella Advisors

In September 2023 a federal lawsuit against the parents of cryptocurrency entrepreneur and Democratic mega-donor Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) alleged a significant purported connection between Allan Joseph Bankman, SBF’s father, Arabella Advisors, and the Arebella-controlled New Venture Fund. The lawsuit, filed by FTX, the defunct cryptocurrency exchange co-founded by SBF, alleged that Allan Joseph Bankman used the Arabella network to channel his son’s contributions to nonprofit organizations and claimed that Bankman sat “on the advisory board” of Arabella Advisors. According to the suit, FTX had established an arrangement with Arabella’s largest affiliate nonprofit, the New Venture Fund (NVF), which allowed the crypto exchange and its donors to contribute to select charitable causes through NVF. 1 2

Although the extent of Allan Joseph Bankman’s involvement with Arabella Advisors was not made clear, the lawsuit provided evidence of his alleged discussions of Arabella and its nonprofit arm, NVF, as vehicles for moving money while concealing its origin. He claimed, “[w]e considered having funds made available by Sam through Arabella, through our own 501(c)(3), through a foreign entity with a 501(c)(3)-like charter, and through Alameda as a public benefit corporation.” 2

FTX’s legal action accused Allan Joseph Bankman and his wife, Barbara Fried, both Stanford Law professors and major Democratic donors, of contributing to FTX’s demise through breaches of fiduciary duties, fraudulent transfers, and unjust enrichment. The lawsuit cited Bankman’s discussions about his son’s partnership with Arabella as evidence of his “unfettered access” to FTX’s finances. 2

The lawsuit also stated that the FTX Foundation donated $8 million to NVF in 2021, for an unspecified fiscally sponsored project. A spokesperson for NVF confirmed that NVF worked with the FTX Foundation to provide fiscal sponsorship services saying, “In early 2022, NVF issued grants from a project affiliated with Mr. Bankman and the FTX Foundation, all of which went to carefully vetted charitable organizations addressing environmental challenges and hunger … This is a pending legal matter, and the remaining money will be returned based on resolution of that process.” 2

Steve Sampson, spokesman for Arabella Advisors, told reporters at the Washington Free Beacon, that Bankman never sat on the advisory board of the company, saying that Bankman “has never had any role at Arabella Advisors. 2

Sam Bankman-Fried & FTX Collapse

In November 2022, FTX, the cryptocurrency company managed by Bankman’s son Sam Bankman-Fried, filed for bankruptcy amid revelations that Bankman-Fried “misappropriated FTX user deposits, gambled with customer funds, and used the proceeds to lend himself massive sums of money, liquidity that he was then able to use for his political and philanthropic projects.” 3 According to family insiders, Bankman, along with his wife Barbara Fried were concerned that paying the legal costs for their son, who was charged with multiple counts of wire fraud and conspiracy in December 2022, 4, would “likely wipe them out financially.” 5 Even Bankman, according to the same sources, commented “We hope this gives us some wisdom…otherwise, it would be too hard to take.” 5 According to the New York Post, a spokesperson for the family declined to say if Fried and Bankman were legally advising their son. 5 Both Fried and Bankman were among a group of several offering legal advice to Bankman-Fried, which included Stanford faculty such as Sanford criminal law professor and family friend David Mills and former federal prosecutor Ronald G. White. 6

According to the Post, as of December 2022 both Bankman and Fried were listed on the deed for a $16.4 million beach property purchased within the Old Fort Bay gated community in Nassau of the Bahamas, one of several real estate properties in the area that lawyers for FTX claimed had been purchased with $300 million of the company’s funds by Bankman-Fried and several senior FTX staff. 5 7 6 Documents obtained by Reuters claimed that the beach house would have been used as a “vacation home” but according to a spokesperson for the family, “Joe and Barbara never intended to and never believed they had any beneficial or economic ownership in the house,” and are not living within the property as of December 2022. 5

By March 2024, his son Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering and was subsequently sentenced to 25 years in prison. 8

As of March 2025, Bankman and Fried were reportedly part of a campaign to have President Donald Trump and the Second Trump Administration grant a pardon for their son for his 25-year prison sentence received for fraud, conspiracy and money laundering. According to a story by the New York Times, ” [t]here is no indication that the Bankman-Frieds and their allies have reached Mr. Trump directly or discussed a potential pardon with his White House advisers.” 9 However, the same story indicated Fried and Bankman have allegedly consulted with attorney Kory Langhofer, whom previously worked for the 2016 and 2020 Trump presidential campaigns, on the matter. 9

References

  1. Kaminsky, Gabe. “Sam Bankman-Fried’s Father Advised Top Liberal Dark Money Network Arabella Advisors: Lawsuit.” Washington Examiner, September 20, 2023. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/economy/sam-bankman-fried-father-liberal-dark-money-network-arabella-advisors.
  2. Andrew Kerr, “Lawsuit Unearths Link Between Dem Megadonor SBF, Parents, and Democratic Dark Money Behemoth Arabella Advisors,” Washington Free Beacon, September 20, 2023, https://freebeacon.com/democrats/sam-bankman-frieds-dad-secretly-advised-democratic-dark-money-kingpin-arabella-advisors/.
  3. Schleifer, Theodore. “The Lost Gospel of S.B.F.” Puck, November 22, 2022. https://puck.news/the-lost-gospel-of-s-b-f/
  4. Levinthal, Dave. “Sam Bankman-Fried gave $2.5 million to a leading political ethics watchdog. The group says it can’t give the money back because officials already spent it.” Insider, December 8, 2022. https://www.businessinsider.com/sam-bankman-fried-sbf-donation-contribution-charity-campaign-legal-center-2022-12
  5. Barrabi, Thomas. “Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents staying in Bahamas, fear his legal fees will ‘wipe them out.'” New York Post, December 12, 2022. https://nypost.com/2022/12/12/sam-bankman-frieds-parents-fear-his-legal-fees-will-wipe-them-out/ 
  6. Yaffe-Bellany, David, Lora Kelly and Kenneth P. Vogel. “The Parents in the Middle of FTX’s Collapse.” The New York Times, December 12, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/12/technology/sbf-parents-ftx-collapse.html
  7. Barrabi, Thomas. “Sam Bankman-Fried ran FTX like ‘personal fiefdom’ as firm spent $300M on luxury real estate.” New York Post, November 22, 2022. https://nypost.com/2022/11/22/sam-bankman-fried-ran-ftx-like-personal-fiefdom-as-firm-spent-300m-on-luxury-real-estate/
  8. Yaffe-Bellany, David and J. Edward Moreno. “Sam Bankman-Fried Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison.” New York Times, March 28, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/28/technology/sam-bankman-fried-sentenced.html
  9. Yaffe-Bellany, David, Kenneth P. Vogel and Theodore Schleifer. “Sam Bankman-Fried Ramps Up Effort for a Pardon From Trump.” New York Times, March 7, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/07/technology/sam-bankman-fried-pardon-trump.html
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