Former Ultimate Bet Poker Lawyer Daniel Friedberg Saves His Skin by Flipping on FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried

Former Ultimate Bet Poker and FTX lawyer, Daniel Friedberg, has flipped on Sam Bankman-Fried and is cooperating with the US authorities. The latter was arrested on criminal fraud charges last month and is currently on $250 million bail following his extradition from the Bahamas.

Former Ultimate Bet Poker Lawyer Daniel Friedberg Switches Sides

No surprise there. Snake in the grass Daniel Friedberg, best known to us for being caught on tape conspiring to cover up the UB cheating, turned on SBF and crew and ran to the feds to save his own ass. I hope he at least gets disbarred. https://t.co/aPIAIUrFEE

— Todd Witteles (@ToddWitteles) January 5, 2023

The US Department of Justice has labelled this case “one of the biggest financial frauds in US history,” pretty much the same status as the Ultimate Bet scandal had in the poker community at the time.

Daniel Friedberg was the lawyer for Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker, and he was caught on tape conspiring to cover up the “superuser” cheating scandal so it’s no surprise that his ethics are being called into question once again.

Daniel Friedberg Spills the Beans on Sam Bankman-Fried

Daniel Friedberg attended a meeting at the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York’s office and told the attendees that he was aware of Bankman-Fried’s use of customer funds to finance the rest of his business interests.

Friedberg has also reportedly been told that he will not be charged and is expected to appear as a government witness in Bankman-Fried’s October 2023 trial.

Last week, Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to charges of diverting billions of dollars’ worth of client funds to other businesses he owns and massive political donations.

Caroline Ellison, Bankman-Fried’s former girlfriend and Alameda’s former chief executive, already pleaded guilty to fraud and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.

Gary Wang, FTX’s former CTO, did the same.

Sam Bankman-Fried is facing 115 years in prison if found guilty on all charges.

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Andrew Burnett

Professional Poker Journalist

An avid poker player, he dreams of one day playing the WSOP Main Event and has promised himself he will fold aces and kings if he gets them on the first hand to avoid front-page headlines. [more]