MARIA: WELCOME BACK.
SO WHERE IS THE MONEY?
FOLLOWING THE FTX COLLAPSE, AT
LEAST $1 BILLION OF CLIENT FUNDS
MISSING.
MANY INVESTORS ARE DEMANDING
ANSWERS.
JOINING ME NOW IS ONE OF THEM,
INVESTOR AND ENTREPRENEUR EVAN
LUTHRA.
THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
I WANT YOU TO WALK US THROUGH
WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU.
YOU ARE ONE OF THE INVESTORS WHO
WERE SCAMMED BY FTX.
HOW MUCH MONEY DID YOU LOSE?
WERE YOU ABLE TO GET ANY OF IT
BACK?
TELL US HOW YOU GOT HOODWINKED.
>> I JOINED FTX A COUPLE YEARS
AGO, DEPOSITED $12 MILLION ON
THE PLATFORM.
I LOST SOME OF THE MONEY DURING
THE CRYPTO CRASH.
I HAD OVER $2 MILLION IN FTX
WHEN THEY WENT DOWN.
I WITHDREW MOST OF THE MONEY BUT
IT NEVER PROCESSED.
I WAS ABLE TO PROCESS $200,000
BEFORE THE REST OF THE WITH
DRAWLS GOT STUCK AND ALL THE
MONEY STUCK THERE.
TODAY I CAN’T LOG IN ANYMORE.
THE WEBSITE GOES TO A BANKRUPTCY
PAGE.
MARIA: THEY’RE GOING TO PUSH
BACK AND SAY, LOOK, YOU BE PUT
YOUR MONEY ON THE LINE AND YOU
TOOK ON THE RISK AND THAT’S YOUR
RISK.
BUT YOU SAY YOU TRIED TO
WITHDRAW IT AND THEN YOU WERE
UNABLE.
HOW MANY DAYS BEFORE YOU TRIED
TO WITHDRAW AND THEN IT WAS --
YOU WERE UNABLE TO GET ANYTHING
BACK?
>> I TRIED TO WITHDRAW ONCE THE
NEWS STARTED COMING OUT THAT FTX
WAS GOING UNDER.
THERE WAS A LOT OF NEWS ONLINE.
I ACTUALLY TRIED TO PROCESS HE’S
ONCE THEY MADE THE STATEMENT.
SO, YES, I DID TAKE ON THAT RISK
BUT I WOULDN’T JUST BLAME MYSELF
HERE.
THIS WAS A CON.
HE COMMITTED A FRAUD.
YOU WON’T EXPECT IT TO TURN OUT
THE WAY IT HAPPENED.
THIS WASN’T A RISK I TOOK ON
WHEN I INVESTED.
HE CAN COMMITTED A CRIME, HE
INTENTIONALLY DEFRAUDED USERS.
YOU CAN SEE THAT BY SEEING THE
NEWS STORY THAT WAS DEVELOPING.
HE USED USER’S FUNDS TO BUY
PROPERTY, WAS FLYING PRIVATE
JETS WITH USERS’ MONEY.
YOU CAN SEE THIS NOW.
MARIA: IT’S A FAIR POINT.
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT
IT?
MANY INVESTORS HAVE TAKEN LEGAL
ACTION AGAINST EVEN THE
CELEBRITIES INVOLVED IN THE ADS,
THE MARK A CONTINUING FOR FTX.
HAVE YOU TAKEN ANY LEGAL ACTION?
ARE YOU PLANNING TO?
>> MY LEGAL TEAM IS WORKING ON
FINDING WHAT’S THE BEST LEGAL
WAY BUT THE LEGAL ROUTE IS VERY
SLOW.
I HAVE 2 MILLION FOLLOWERS ON
SOCIAL MEDIA.
I POST IT EVERYWHERE, JAIL FOR
FTX, HASHTAG.
I HAVE A $10,000 GIVE-AWAY ON
TWITTER TRYING TO GET THE NEWS
OUT THERE.
I’M FRUSTRATED SEEING THE
MAINSTREAM MEDIA TALKING ABOUT
THIS IS NOT A SCAM, IT’S NOT A
FRAUD.
THIS IS AN OUTRIGHT FRAUD.
FTX STOLE USERS’ FUNDS.
I’M DOING THE BEST I CAN TO GET
THIS OUT THERE.
I WANT THE LAWMAKERS IN THE U.S.
TO TAKE ACTION.
I THINK THERE’S MORE ACTION
BEING TAKEN LIKE INDIVIDUALS
LIKE MYSELF THAN ALL THE
LAWMAKERS IN THE U.S. COMBINED.
ONE OF MY FELLOW FRIENDS, BIG
BOY, FLEW TO BAHAMAS TO TRY TO
GET HOLD OF FTX AND HE CAME TO
FIND OUT THAT NOT A SINGLE
RESIDENT FILED A COMPLAINT SO
WE’RE QUITE SURPRISED HOW THIS
IS DEVELOPING.
I DON’T KNOW WHAT KIND OF
CONNECTIONS HE HAS, MAYBE HE
DONATED TENS OF MILLIONS OF
DOLLARS TO THE DEMOCRATS ALSO
WITH OUR MONEY AND HE’S BEEN
ABLE TO STAY AWAY.
HE SHOULD ALREADY BE IN JAIL.
THERE’S NO DOUBT THIS IS FRAUD
AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL.
HE SHOULD ALREADY BE IN JAIL FOR
THIS.
I’M DOING THE BEST I CAN TO
INFORM MORE PEOPLE THAT IT’S A
SCAM AND FTX IS TO BLAME.
MARIA: THE FOUNDER SAM BANK
BANKMAN-FRIED IS GOING TO SPEAK
THIS WEEK.
THE NEW YORK TIMES HAS NO
PROBLEM HAVING HIM THERE AND
HE’S GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT
APPARENTLY HE’S GOING TO BE
TALKING ABOUT WHAT TOOK PLACE.
>> YES.
TO HE ME THAT SOUNDS REALLY
WEIRD.
WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON WITH THE
MEDIA.
IT’S NOT JUST THE NEW YORK
TIMES.
NO CON MAN SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO
SPEAK IN A CONFERENCE WHERE YOU
SEE THE FOUNDER OF FACEBOOK AND
PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE SPEAKING
ALONG SIDE.
THIS DOESN’T MAKE SENSE.
DID FTX GIVE UNDER THE TABLE
TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO
NEW YORK TIMES TOO?
WE DON’T KNOW.
THERE’S $10 BILLION MISSING.
WE DON’T KNOW WHERE IT WENT.
I’M PRETTY SURE IT’S GONE --
SOME HAS GONE TO THE MEDIA.
IT’S NOT JUST NEW YORK TIMES.
THERE’S WASHINGTON POST,
WASHINGTON JOURNAL, THERE’S A
LOT OF MEDIA THAT’S PUTTING HIM
IN A GREAT LIGHT.
THAT’S NOT THE REAL SITUATION.
THE REAL THING IS, HE TOOK
USERS’ MONEY AND DEFRAUDED A LOT
OF PEOPLE.
MARIA: WE’LL BE WATCHING THAT.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR SPEAKING