Stanford says it will return all gifts from FTX following suit against Sam Bankman-Fried's parents
Following a lawsuit that alleges Stanford University received millions of dollars in donations from FTX Trading, the school says it will return the funds of all gifts collected from the now-collapsed cryptocurrency exchange
NEW YORK — Following a lawsuit against FTX Trading founder Sam Bankman-Fried's parents alleging that Stanford University received millions of dollars in donations from the now-collapsed cryptocurrency exchange, the school says it will return the funds of all gifts collected from FTX and related companies.
Lawyers for FTX on Monday accused Allan Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried of exploiting their influence over their son to siphon millions from the company, while spending lavishly on a luxury home as well as funneling contributions to “pet causes” — and Stanford University.
The suit claims that Bankman, who is a Stanford law professor and expert in tax law, directed more than $5.5 million in charitable contributions from FTX to the university — in what the complaint describes as “naked self-dealing” in an attempt to “curry favor with and enrich his employer at the FTX Group’s expense.”
In a statement sent to The Associated Press on Wednesday, a university spokesperson said that Stanford “received gifts from the FTX Foundation and FTX-related companies largely for pandemic-related prevention and research.”
Stanford is in discussions with attorneys for FTX debtors to recover the gifts, the spokesperson added, and «will be returning the funds in their entirety.” The university did not specify the monetary value of the gifts it received.
Like Bankman, Fried worked at Stanford for many years. She's a retired law professor.
FTX entered bankruptcy in November when the company ran out of money after the
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