The gloomy and misty weather didn’t deter thousands from flooding Times Square to watch the ball drop for the first unrestricted New Year’s Eve party since 2020.
The massive annual extravaganza was the first in two years to have zero COVID-19-related restrictions – no masks, no vaccines and no social distancing.
The lift on limited capacity rules meant the popular tourist destination was packed again with revelers eager to get back to normal.
Most had packed into the midtown square early Saturday morning to claim their prime spots.
Michelle Strunk, 48, of Shickshinny, PA, told The Post she had come prepared for the hours-long wait — after watching the ball drop for the first time when she was 19 years old.
She, her husband and her two sons packed their pockets with granola bars and water, but the boys declined to follow her lead and wear a diaper.
“I guarantee 75 percent of people have one on,” she speculated. “Listen I’ve cranked out two kids … It’s only for emergency purposes. I don’t plan on using it but it’s only there for emergency purposes.”
Onlookers cheered as confetti filled the air to mark the beginning of the new year. AFP via Getty Images
The extravaganza was the first in two years to have zero COVID-19-related restrictions. AFP via Getty Images
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Thousands flooded Times Square to watch the ball drop. AFP via Getty Images
A couple kissed to celebrate the new year in Times Square. AP
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Jurate Samiene, 59, and husband Rimas Samis, 62, of Branford, Connecticut planted their feet at 7 a.m. and abstained from eating or drinking all day to celebrate their third time at the event.
“We decided to put our minds to come here and come to Times Square. Rain or not, it doesn’t matter. We decided rain is better than cold,” Samiene told The Post.
But for others, the wait wasn’t so easy.
Pearl Vaval, a 63-year-old Bronx resident and MTA bus operator, claimed her spot at 7 a.m. to watch the ball drop for the first time since moving to the city 39 years ago.
“It’s on my wish list and never again,” Vaval told The Post. “I’m too old. I can’t stand here for too long.”
Vaval said she “sacrificed” drinking water all day to cross the feat off her bucket list, but is looking forward to starting the new year off by making new friends.
Ryan Seacrest wants to host the next “Rockin’ Eve” with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Christopher Sadowski
Ryan Seacrest hosted Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 2023 in Times Square. Christopher Sadowski
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“I’m just enjoying life right now at my age … Every day is like a gift,” she told The Post.
Samiene said her resolutions for the new year were to “do better in everything… and of course, peace in the world.”
The New Year’s Eve revelers were treated to a number of live performances throughout the night, featuring a lineup of Chelsea Cutler, JVKE, Ava Max, Osmani Garcia, New Edition, Chesca and Duran Duran.
Just before the strike of midnight, Cutler performed a rendition of John Lennon’s “Imagine” that had thousands singing along as they welcomed 2023.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams was given the honor of pushing the button starting the 60-second descent of the Waterford Crystal New Year’s ball, complete with neon lights and fireworks as the crowd roared the final countdown.
A few notes of the New Year’s classic ballad “Auld Land Syne” played on the loudspeakers as partiers shared smooches before blasting Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” as confetti rained down.
A measles outbreak striking central Ohio has now infected 82 children – hospitalizing 32 – as experts fear the once-conquered virus will make a resurgence.
Officials in Columbus, Ohio, the state’s largest city, confirmed the infections and report that 74 of the infected children are not vaccinated against measles – and four are only partially vaccinated. Nearly all of the infected are under five years old.
While once one of the most dangerous infections in the world, measles deaths have significantly dropped since an effective vaccine was introduced in 1968. In 2000, the US considered it eliminated as an endemic infection.
The Covid pandemic has dropped vaccination rates across the world, though. Experts fear this fall in immunity will allow these once-defeated viruses to return in the developed world. Earlier this year, New York City recorded the US’ first confirmed polio case in over a decade.
Officials in central Ohio have recorded 82 cases of measles this year, 32 of which have required hospitalizations. No deaths have been tied to this outbreak
A vast majority of these cases are among unvaccinated children, with 90 percent not having received any shots, and five percent being only partially jabbed
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Columbus officials first confirmed the measles outbreak in November – when there were 24 cases.
At the time, investigators has tied the outbreak to nine daycares and two pediatric hospitals in the area.
In its most recent update Tuesday morning, the city is now reporting 82 cases both in Columbus itself and in surrounding areas.
Just under half, 32, of the cases have required hospitalization. No deaths have yet been tied to the outbreak.
The CDC estimates that 130,000 people die from measles globally each year, though stateside deaths are rare. Up to two of every 1,000 infected people die.
‘We are working diligently with the cases to identify any potential exposures and to notify people who were exposed,’ Dr Mysheika Roberts, commissioner of Columbus Public Health, said in a statement on November 9.
‘The most important thing you can do to protect against measles is to get vaccinated with the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, which is safe and highly effective.’
The MMR vaccine is a three-in-one shot that prevents against three potentially deadly conditions – measles, mumps and rubella.
A child is meant to get their first jab in between the ages of 12 and 15 months. The first shot alone is 93 percent effective against infection.
They are to receive a second dose between the ages of four to six, boosting their protection from the virus to 97 percent.
Many of the infected children did not receive the shot, though, leaving them vulnerable to the disease.
A majority of the children infected in this outbreak are under the age of two years old, officials report
‘Measles is both highly contagious and preventable,’ said Joe Mazzola, health commissioner of Franklin County, which includes Columbus.
‘It can be a severe illness, so we strongly encourage anyone who has not been vaccinated to get vaccinated to prevent further spread.’
This outbreak has largely struck young children so far. Officials report 23 infections in children under one year old, and 36 among those aged one or two.
CDC issues ‘urgent’ Strep A warning as infection continues spread across the US
Leading US officials issued a warning about a Strep A outbreak spreading across America – a sign officials are worried the bacterial infection will continue to surge in the coming months.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued the urgent advisory message Thursday, notifying doctors and public health authorities of the situation.
America has suffered two confirmed strep deaths as part of this outbreak, both in Denver, Colorado. Doctors at hospitals in at least six states have given anecdotal reports that cases of the infection have increased this year.
The CDC does not track Strep A at a national level, so it is impossible to know daily case figures. Across the pond, 21 children have died from the illness in the UK – and US officials fear this outbreak will reach the same levels stateside.
Only five of the cases are in children over the age of six. No infections have yet been reported in adults.
The first symptoms of measles will often erupt a week after a person is infected.
A sick person will often experience a high fever, cough, runny nose and red eyes.
In the following days, the virus causes a rash that can spread all over a person’s face, neck, arms, legs and feet.
Unlike many other rashes, the spots caused by measles usually do not hurt or itch.
An infected person may also experience the development of tiny white spots. Young children, the immunocompromised and the elderly are most at risk.
Measles first rose to prominence in the US in the early 1900s, being declared by federal officials as a nationally notifiable disease in 1912.
The virus killed around 6,000 Americans each year before scientists first develop a vaccine in 1963.
Since then, rates of measles in the US have cratered and successful vaccine campaigns have all but removed it as a regular threat to Americans.
In 2000, US officials declared the virus eliminated from the US population.
It does arise in America on occasion, though. While 90 percent of the population is vaccinated by age two, the CDC reports, the remaining unvaccinated people are vulnerable.
In 2019, the largest measles outbreak in decades struck the nation, with 1,274 confirmed infections across 31 states.
This outbreak could be tied to COVID-19 lockdowns and other pandemic measures that disrupted medical treatment for the past two years.
The World Health Organization warned in July that the pandemic had created a global ‘backslide’ in vaccinations across the world.
Officials now fear that rare but dangerous viruses like measles could make a resurgence across the world.
Over the summer, the US recorded its first polio case in over a decade just outside of New York City.
While only one case was confirmed, wastewater data shows there were likely thousands of others that went undetected.
Some have also warned that the anti-vax movement spurred by backlash to the Covid vaccines have left many young children vulnerable as well.
A frigid winter storm has swept across the country, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses and leaving millions of people on edge about the possibility of blackouts over the Christmas holiday weekend.
The storm unleashed its full fury on Buffalo, New York, with hurricane-force winds causing whiteout conditions. Emergency response efforts were paralyzed, and the city’s international airport was shut down.
CBS News has confirmed at least 20 weather-related deaths from the storm nationwide. At least three people died in the Buffalo area, including two who suffered medical emergencies in their homes and couldn’t be saved because emergency crews were unable to reach them amid historic blizzard conditions.
As millions of Americans were traveling ahead of Christmas, more than 3,400 flights within, into or out of the U.S. were canceled Saturday, and another 1,300 as of 7 a.m. ET Sunday, according to the tracking site FlightAware. Airlines were playing catch-up with crew shortages and de-icing slowing the return to normal, CBS News correspondent Naomi Ruchim reported. In Seattle, an ice storm shut down multiple runways.
A bobcat makes its way to help dig out abandoned vehicles along the Lake Erie shoreline on Dec. 24, 2022 in Hamburg, New York, during a powerful winter storm.
John Normile / Getty Images
As of Saturday night, at least 345,000 customers were without power nationwide, according to the outage tracking site PowerOutage.us. Of those, more than 170,000 were in the New England region.
Deep snow, single-digit temperatures and day-old power outages sent Buffalo residents scrambling Saturday to get out of their houses to anywhere that had heat. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the Buffalo Niagara International Airport would be closed through Monday morning and almost every fire truck in the city was stranded in the snow.
“No matter how many emergency vehicles we have, they cannot get through the conditions as we speak,” Hochul said.
Forecasters said 28 inches of snow had already accumulated as of Saturday in Buffalo — part of an area that saw 6 feet fall just over a month ago, resulting in three deaths. More is expected overnight.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said the blizzard may be “the worst storm in our community’s history.” He said it was taking ambulances over three hours to do one trip to a hospital. Plows were on the roads, but large snow drifts, abandoned cars and downed power lines were slowing progress.
Ice covers Hoak’s restaurant along the Lake Erie shoreline on December 24, 2022, in Hamburg, New York.
John Normile/Getty Images
Blinding blizzards, freezing rain and frigid cold also knocked out power in places from Maine to Seattle, while a major electricity grid operator warned the 65 million people it serves across the eastern U.S. that rolling blackouts might be required.
Pennsylvania-based PJM Interconnection said power plants are having difficulty operating in the frigid weather and has asked residents in 13 states to conserve electricity through at least Christmas morning. The Tennessee Valley Authority, which provides electricity to 10 million people in the state and parts of six surrounding ones, directed local power companies to implement planned interruptions but ended the measure by Saturday afternoon. The start of the NFL’s Tennessee Titans’ game in Nashville was delayed an hour by a planned power outage.
PJM Interconnection, which covers all or parts of 13 states and and Washington, D.C., also warned rolling blackouts might be required.
Powerful storm blankets much of the U.S.
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In North Carolina, 169,000 customers were without power Saturday afternoon, down from a peak of more than 485,000, but utility officials said rolling blackouts would continue for “the next few days.”
Those without power included James Reynolds of Greensboro, who said his housemate, a 70-year-old with diabetes and severe arthritis, spent the morning bundled beside a kerosene heater with indoor temperatures “hovering in the 50s.”
In Jackson, Mississippi, officials Saturday said the city’s water system – which partially collapsed in late August – was experiencing “fluctuating” pressure on Saturday afternoon amid frigid temperatures.
Some residents in Mississippi’s capital city may temporarily experience low water pressure, officials warned. Leading up to the “arctic blast” that brought dangerously cold air to Jackson, Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba warned that the city’s the water distribution system remained a “huge vulnerability.”
Ticket prices at Soldier Field in Chicago Saturday plummeted faster than the temperature, with some seats going for $10 on third-party sites to see the Bears take on the Buffalo Bills. The temperature at kickoff was 9 degrees, with a minus-12 wind chill. It was Buffalo’s coldest road game by temperature since at least 1967.
In Montana, it’s been minus 40 degrees or worse for much of the week, with ranchers attempting to keep their cattle safe.
She’s brisk pic.twitter.com/kiNVkJqUV3
— Dirk O’Connor (@mtdirtfarmer) December 22, 2022
On the Ohio Turnpike, four died in a massive pileup Friday involving some 50 vehicles. A Kansas City, Missouri, driver was killed Thursday after skidding into a creek, and three others died Wednesday in separate crashes on icy northern Kansas roads.
A utility worker in Ohio was also killed Friday while trying to restore power, a company said. Buckeye Rural Electric Cooperative said the 22-year-old died in “an electrical contact incident” near Pedro in Lawrence County.
A woman in Vermont died in a hospital Friday after a tree broke in the high winds and fell on her. Police in Colorado Springs said they found the dead body of a person who appeared to be homeless as subzero temperatures and snow descended upon the region. In Madison, Wisconsin, a 57-year-old woman died Friday after falling through the ice on a river, the Rock County Sheriff’s Office announced.
In Lansing, Michigan, an 82-year-old woman died after being found Friday morning curled up in the snow outside of her assisted living community, Bath Township police reported. A snowplow driver found the woman as temperatures hovered around 10 degrees.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said one person died in a traffic accident attributed to the weather in western Kentucky and a homeless person died in Louisville.
Along Interstate 71 in Kentucky, Terry Henderson and her husband, Rick, were stuck in a massive traffic jam caused by several accidents for 34 hours. The truck drivers weathered the wait in a rig outfitted with a diesel heater, a toilet and a refrigerator but nonetheless regretted trying to drive from Alabama to their home near Akron, Ohio, for Christmas.
“I wish we should have stayed,” said Terry Henderson, after they got moving again Saturday. “We should have sat.”
The storm was nearly unprecedented in its scope, stretching from the Great Lakes near Canada to the Rio Grande along the border with Mexico. About 60% of the U.S. population faced some sort of winter weather advisory or warning, and temperatures plummeted drastically below normal from east of the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachians, the National Weather Service said.
In Mexico, migrants camped near the U.S. border in unusually cold temperatures as they awaited a U.S. Supreme Court decision on pandemic-era restrictions that prevent many from seeking asylum. Dozens of migrants were also living and sleeping on streets of the Texas border city of El Paso in subfreezing temperatures waiting for shelters to open. Most were donning donated winter clothing they received from empathetic local residents and volunteers,
Forecasters said a bomb cyclone — when atmospheric pressure drops very quickly in a strong storm — had developed near the Great Lakes, stirring up blizzard conditions, including heavy winds and snow.
Western New York often sees dramatic lake-effect snow, which is caused by cool air picking up moisture from the warm water, then dumping it on the land. But even area residents found conditions to be dire on Christmas Eve.
Latricia Stroud said she and her two daughters, 1 and 12, were stranded without heat or power in their Buffalo house since Friday afternoon, with the snow too deep to leave.
“I have to go over a snowbank to get out,” Stroud told the AP. “There’s a warming center, I just need a ride to get there.”
Two major utility companies asked customers to cut back late Saturday amid the holiday weekend’s punishing below-freezing temperatures and strain on demand.
Con Edison and National Grid released alerts late Christmas Eve asking for cutbacks in gas and electricity use by its customers in New York.
“The call for conservation covers Con Edison’s 1.1 million natural gas, 3.5 million electric customers and its steam customers in Manhattan and will remain in effect until further notice,” the Con Edison alert read.
Temperatures plunged into the single digits on Saturday, wreaking havoc for many New Yorkers trying to dry out or shovel out from Friday’s winter storm. The sudden drop in degrees is putting a strain on utilities in addition to the increased demand for natural gas, Con Edison said.
The companies hope a voluntary reduction can help keep the lights on.
Con Ed offered the following conservation tips:
Set thermostats at the lowest comfortable temperature. Each degree lower reduces energy usage and decreases heating costs.
Use appliances only as needed. Turn off the lights in unoccupied rooms. Turn off television sets, computers and other appliances that are not in use.
Hold off on using appliances such as dishwashers, washing machines and dryers until the conservation request is lifted, if possible.
Make sure heating vents are not blocked by furniture, carpeting or anything else that could obstruct the flow of heat.
National Guard had these suggestions for gas reduction:
Turn your thermostat down just five degrees for residences if you are at home, and to 60 degrees if you are not at home or operating a business.
If possible, avoid using fireplaces, clothes dryers and other appliances that use gas, which are not critical to safety or health.
“Ensuring safe and reliable service for our customers and the communities we serve is our number one priority and concern,” National Grid Chief Operating Officer Ross Turrini said.
National Grid’s ask for energy reduction goes out to its 1.9 million customers in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Long Island through Christmas afternoon.
Curbing energy use is voluntary and asked of nonessential needs; neither company is asking to sacrifice safety during the current cold snap.
Backstreet Boys star AJ McLean says the band ‘fully support’ Nick Carter after he was accused of sexually assaulting a disabled woman in 2001.
Shannon ‘Shay’ Ruth, 39, who has autism and cerebral palsy, claims the singer, 42, invited her on to his tour bus when she was 17 following a band concert in Tacoma, Washington in February 2001, before raping her. Carter denies the allegations.
McLean, 44, who recently performed with the band at the Z100 iHeartRadio Jingle Ball in New York City told TMZ, the band ‘couldn’t be more solid’ in the wake of the lawsuit.
There for him: Backstreet Boys star AJ McLean says the band ‘fully support’ Nick Carter after he was accused of sexually assaulting a disabled woman in 2001 (pictured together 2005)
He said: ‘We all stand behind Nick and we all fully support him. He’s doing as great as he can
‘[The band] couldn’t be more solid.
The interview comes days after Ruth announced her lawsuit against Carter on December 8.
Ruth claims the star pulled down his trousers and exposed himself to her in a bathroom after a concert – before allegedly forcing her to perform oral sex on him and then raping her.
Support: McLean, 44, who recently performed with the band at the Z100 iHeartRadio Jingle Ball told TMZ, the band ‘couldn’t be more solid’ in the wake of the lawsuit (Carter and McLean pictured with Kevin Richardson,Brian Littrell and Howie Dorough last week)
She detailed the ‘pain, confusion, frustration, shame and self-harm’ brought on by the alleged incident and claimed Carter ‘threatened and tried to silence her’ in the immediate aftermath.
Ruth’s attorney Mark J. Boskovich said three other women – named only as Jane Doe – are named in a joint lawsuit alongside her.
According to court documents obtained by TMZ, Ruth alleges she was invited on to the bus and Carter asked if she wanted a drink – after requesting apple juice, she claims he offered her cranberry and gave her a ‘red coloured’ drink he called ‘VIP juice’.
Ruth claims the drink tasted ‘off’ as she drank it and says she believes it was a mix of cranberry juice and alcohol.
It was claimed by Ruth that Carter took her to the bus bathroom and ordered her to perform oral sex on him. She alleges she was crying throughout but Carter ‘kept instructing her’.
Lawsuit: Shannon Ruth (pictured centre)- alleges Carter raped her on a tour bus in 2001 when she was a minor aged 17 – she is seen during a press conference on Thursday announcing her lawsuit against the star – Carter denies all allegations
And she further claims Carter then took her to a bed on the bus and continued his alleged sexual assault.
She claims afterwards that she told Carter she would tell people about the alleged assault – but that he reportedly threatened to turn people against her, allegedly calling her a ‘r******* little b**** that no one would believe’.
She said: ‘The last 21 years have been filled with pain, confusion, frustration, shame and self-harm that are a direct result of Nick Carter raping me.
‘Even though I’m autistic and live with cerebral palsy, I believe that nothing has affected me more or had a more lasting impact on my life than what Nick Carter did and said to me.
She alleged: ‘After he raped me, I remember him calling me a r******* little b**** and grabbing me and leaving bruises on my arm.
She added: ‘Carter tried to scare me into silence … he was nasty and threatening.’
‘He told people he would turn people against me and because he was Nick Carter, he had the power to wreck my life.’
She said she was motivated to speak out to ‘stop’ Carter from ‘assaulting more teens and women.’
Carter is pictured in September 2001 – seven months after the alleged rape
Ruth claims she contracted sexual transmitted infection, Human papillomavirus infection (HPV) from the alleged assault, having been a virgin beforehand.
She is now seeking damages.
She said: ‘Just because Nick Carter is a celebrity does not mean that he is excused from his crimes. I am a survivor and always will be.’
Mr Boskovich claimed ‘Nick Carter has a long history of abusing women’ and added that the music industry has allegedly ‘looked away’ in the past
He added: ‘Shay is determined to bring Carter to justice. She believes it’s worth it to protect other women.’
Following the allegations, the Backstreet Boys Christmas special that was filmed this month in Los Angeles has been cancelled, according to Variety.
A source close to Carter has denied the allegations and told TMZ: ‘This accusation is categorically false, Nick is focusing on his family and mourning the death of his brother.’
Carter’s younger brother Aaron Carter was found dead aged 34 in his bathtub in Lancaster, California, on November 5.
No cause of death has been officially declared, but he was known to have struggled with mental health problems and addictions.
Carter’s attorney Michael Holtz called the allegations ‘entirely untrue’ in a statement to DailyMail.com on Thursday.
RIP: Nick’s brother Aaron Carter was found dead aged 34 in his bathtub in Lancaster, California on November 5 (pictured in his final interview)
‘This claim about an incident that supposedly took place more than 20 years ago is not only legally meritless but also entirely untrue,’ he said.
Mr Holtz said: ‘Unfortunately, for several years now, Ms. Ruth has been manipulated into making false allegations about Nick – and those allegations have changed repeatedly and materially over time.’
He added: ‘No one should be fooled by a press stunt orchestrated by an opportunistic lawyer – there is nothing to this claim whatsoever, which we have no doubt the courts will quickly realise.’
Carter personally has remained silent on the allegations – but shared a post promoting a charity concert for Aaron on Thursday – hours before the claims came to light.
Carter has previously faced rape allegations – which he has denied – he has never been charged with any crimes.
In 2017 singer Melissa Schuman said that the boy bander allegedly raped her in 2003.
In 2018 the LA County District Attorney’s office announced it would not press charges against Carter due to the statute of limitations, which expired in 2013.
Melissa, who is from the 90s girl group named Dream, had filed the police report in February that year.
She claimed that in 2003 Nick had pushed her in a bathroom for forced oral sex and then claimed she was raped in the bedroom.
Nick has denied allegations of rape.
Later the Backstreet Boys star said in a statement that he was ‘shocked and saddened’ about the accusations.
He said: ‘Melissa never expressed to me while we were together or at any time since that anything we did was not consensual.’
Nick added that he ‘was always respectful and supportive of Melissa both personally and professionally.’
He concluded in the statement that ‘this is the first time that I am hearing about these accusations nearly two decades later. It is contrary to my nature and everything I hold dear to intentionally cause someone discomfort or harm.’
He continued, noting that they ‘went on to record a song and perform together.’
Melissa originally made the allegations in a November blog post.
She claimed that she was ‘forced to engage in an act against my will’ by Nick, who allegedly took her virginity when she was 18 and he was 22.
Past claim: In 2017 singer Melissa Schuman accused Nick of raping her in 2003 – he denied the claims and has never been charged with any crimes (pictured 2018)
Lily Collins dazzled while attending the season three special screening of her hit Netflix series Emily In Paris held at The French Consulate General in New York City on Thursday.
The British-American actress, 33, looked festive in a long-sleeve white mini dress with sparkling silver bows throughout, and kept her legs warm with black stockings.
The star added extra height to her 5ft 5in frame with dramatic rhinestone bedazzled platform heels with an ankle strap.
Festive look: Lily Collins dazzled while attending the season three special screening of her hit series Emily In Paris held at The French Consulate General in New York City on Thursday
Collins – who plays Chicago marketing executive Emily Cooper as she relocates to Paris and struggles to succeed in the workplace – wore her chocolate brown tresses in a beautiful updo, with her bangs framing her face.
The star – who’s the daughter of English musician Phil Collins – drew attention to her magnetic eyes with dramatic eyelashes and black eyeliner.
She further accentuated her stunning features with a touch of blush and pink lipstick.
Stunner: The British-American actress, 33, looked festive in a long-sleeve white mini dress with sparkling silver bows throughout, and kept her legs warm with black stockings
Dazzling: The star added extra height to her 5ft 5in frame with dramatic rhinestone bedazzled platform heels with an ankle strap
In terms of accessories, the star further sparkled up her look with a pair of dangling silver earrings and a number of rings.
To add some contrast to the look, she sported black nail polish on her nails.
She was also seen mingling with her co-star Ashley Park, 31, on the red carpet. Park – who plays Mindy Chen on the series – looked ravishing in a busty striped purple gown, which she paired with chunky black boots.
Thrilling: Collins – who plays Chicago marketing executive Emily Cooper as she relocates to Paris and struggles to succeed in the workplace – wore her chocolate brown tresses in a beautiful updo, with her bangs framing her face
Magnetic: The star – who’s the daughter of English musician Phil Collins – drew attention to her magnetic eyes with dramatic eyelashes and black eyeliner
Co-stars: She was also seen mingling with her co-star Ashley Park, 31, on the red carpet. Park – who plays Mindy Chen on the series – looked ravishing in a busty striped purple gown, which she paired with chunky black boots
The actress matched her sultry violet dress with lilac eye makeup.
Park added bling to the outfit with layers of gold bangles on her wrists, as well as a white and gold necklace.
She wore her long brunette tresses in delicate waves cascading down her front and back.
Violet dream: The actress matched her sultry violet dress with lilac eye makeup
Details: Park added bling to the outfit with layers of gold bangles on her wrists, as well as a white and gold necklace
Showing off: She showed off the edgy dress from a number of angles while posing for the shutterbugs
Staying dry: The ladies braved the rain outside of the event with matching transparent umbrellas that kept their chic outfits dry
Grey’s Anatomy star Kate Walsh, 55, looked fantastic in a white caped gown with a unique thigh-high mesh panel down the side.
She accessorized with unique silver earrings and a bracelet, and wore smokey eyeshadow for the night.
The actress was accompanied by fiancé Andrew Nixon, who looked dapper in a black tuxedo.
Thrilling: Grey’s Anatomy star Kate Walsh, 55, looked fantastic in a white caped gown with a unique thigh-high mesh panel down the side
Beauty: She accessorized with unique silver earrings and a bracelet, and wore smokey eyeshadow for the night
Loved up: The actress was accompanied by fiancé Andrew Nixon, who looked dapper in a black tuxedo
French actress Camille Razat, 28, looked red hot in a clingy fiery gown with built in gloves and a long train.
She accessorized with a number of silver rings and a tennis bracelet, as well as a sparkling silver necklace.
Camille wore her brunette tresses parted in the middle and lightly curled, highlighted her blue eyes with smokey eyeshadow.
Red hot! French actress Camille Razat, 28, looked red hot in a clingy fiery gown with built in gloves
Drama! She showed off the dramatic gown, which featured a long red train
Glamour: French actress Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, 59, was the epitome of glamour in form-fitting black silk gown
Tres chic: Philippine accessorized with a unique silver arrow earring
Dynamic trio: Walsh, Razat, and Leroy-Beaulieu posed together on the red carpet
French actress Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, 59, was the epitome of glamour in form-fitting black silk gown. Philippine accessorized with a unique silver arrow earring.
The star had a change of outfit inside the event, and rocked a plunging white vest and matching slacks along with a white coat and boots and was seen posing with screenwriter Andrew Fleming.
Fleming looked sharp rocking a black tuxedo with matching black boots.
Handsome: Samuel Arnold, 31, looked handsome as ever in a striped black suit and a black coat with a cheetah print. He paired the trendy outfit with black shoes that featured gold details
Bright! Lucien Laviscount opted for an all-pint look, while Jeremy O. Harris rocked a floral set and a funky pink sweater
Samuel Arnold, 31, looked handsome as ever in a striped black suit and a black coat with a cheetah print. He paired the trendy outfit with black shoes that featured gold details.
Lucien Laviscount opted for an all-pint look, while Jeremy O. Harris rocked a floral set and a funky pink sweater.
Meanwhile Lily was spotted with Ashley and her husband Charlie McDowell, 39, inside the event. Charlie looked dashing in a black suit, blue shirt and black tie.
Inside: Lily was spotted with Ashley and her husband Charlie McDowell, 39, inside the event. Charlie looked dashing in a black suit, blue shirt and black tie
Changing it up! Philippine had a change of outfit inside the event, and rocked a plunging white vest and matching slacks along with a white coat and boots and was seen posing with screenwriter Andrew Fleming
Representing France: The ladies were pictured with Consul General of France Jérémie Robert, who looked handsome in a navy suit
All together now: The cast were seen posing together; (L-R) Bruno Gouery, Lucas Bravo, William Abadie, Walsh, Razat, Leroy-Beaulieu, Arnold, Collins, Park, Paul Forman, Laviscount, and O. Harris
Lily, Camille, Ashley and Philippine were also pictured with Consul General of France Jérémie Robert, who looked handsome in a navy suit.
Also at the event were Bruno Gouery, Lucas Bravo, William Abadie, Samuel Arnold, Paul Forman, Lucien Laviscount, and Jeremy O. Harris.
Collins reached new heights of fame two years ago when she began starring as the title character on Emily In Paris.
Created by Darren Star of Sex And The City fame, the sitcom follows a sprightly American woman coping with culture clash in France.
Although the show has been lambasted in some quarters for its stereotypical depiction of the French, Emily’s fashion sense has been met with wide acclaim.
Emily in Paris Season 3 is set to air on Netflix on December 21, 2022.
Just in time for Christmas! Emily in Paris Season 3 is set to air on Netflix on December 21, 2022
Britney Spears and her husband Sam Asghari are headed for the Big Apple.
The Gimme More hitmaker, 41, took to her Instagram on Monday to share a clip of herself on a private jet as she showed off her trim abs in a white crop top and plaid mini skirt while dancing and goofing off next to the Iranian model, 28.
‘New York City here I come !!! How about them apples,’ the superstar captioned the video, which comes after Sam denied speculation that Britney’s social media is being controlled.
New York bound! Britney Spears shared that she and husband Sam Asghari are headed for the Big Apple via her Instagram on Monday, writing ‘New York City here I come!’
The clip started out with the Princess of Pop doing her signature side-to-side sway as she showed off her sultry look to the camera.
The Toxic singer wore her platinum blonde tresses parted to the side and lightly curled.
She also drew attention to her eyes with heavy black eyeliner.
Dynamic pair: The Gimme More hitmaker, 41, posted a clip of herself on a private jet dancing and goofing off next to the Iranian model, 28
Abs: The superstar showed off her trim abs in a white long-sleeve crop top and plaid grey mini skirt
The next scene in the clip showed her in a closer view, rocking black aviator glasses.
The video then jumped around between clips, showing Britney throwing herself on the bed in red boots, before going back to showing off her outfit yet again.
Another scene saw Britney and Sam at the entrance of the plane posing together, with the blonde star wearing a white coat.
The usual: The clip started out with the Princess of Pop doing her signature side-to-side sway as she showed off her look to the camera
Blondie: The Toxic singer wore her platinum blonde tresses parted to the side and lightly curled
Another part of the clip saw Sam kissing Britney’s cheek as she pulled faces, before playfully trying to bite her face.
There was also a quirky moment when the songstress placed a green apple against her forehead while standing in the middle of the aisle.
The video then looped back and showed the previous footage before cutting off.
Having fun! The video then jumped around between clips, showing Britney throwing herself on the bed in red boots, before going back to showing off her outfit yet again
Funny: Another part of the clip saw Sam kissing Britney’s cheek as she pulled faces
However, some of her fans were less than thrilled, after recent speculation that Spears’ accounts are being controlled again.
‘This is the worst green screen I’ve ever seen,’ one wrote, suggesting that the clip was not filmed on a plane.
Another person wrote: ‘Yeah, whoever’s posting from Britney’s account: you’re not fooling anyone.’
Loved-up: Sam then playfully tried to bite his wife’s face
Roar! Spears continued to pull funny faces for the camera while showing off her smile
On Friday Britney shocked fans while writhing around on the floor to Santa Baby in a red jumpsuit and smothering cake on herself.
It comes after earlier this week her husband Sam shed light on her decision to step back from Instagram amid speculation that her accounts are being controlled again.
On Wednesday evening, Sam requested that fans of his spouse respect her privacy, at this time, on his Instagram Story.
‘Social media can be traumatizing. Sometimes it’s good to take a break. She has her voice and is a free woman. I have respect for her privacy and I protect it at all times,’ he wrote.
Interesting: There was also a quirky moment when the songstress placed a green apple against her forehead while standing in the middle of the aisle
Looping back: The video then looped back and showed the previous footage before cutting off
He continued: ‘Thank you to all of her protective fans,’ he wrote amid fears from fans that Britney isn’t in control of her own social media accounts.
The Hot Seat actor explained he does not post pictures or videos of Spears ’24/7′ out of ‘respect for her privacy’ and asks permission if he ever does.
‘For my job I have to attend many events. It would be my honour if she joins. For her those things are not fun. They’re hictic [sic] and full of stress,’ he said of why they don’t typically attend red carpets together.
Asghari added: ‘Specially, since she’s been doing these things since 8 years old. Plus she already slayed every single one she has been to.’
Cake: On Friday she shocked fans while writhing around on the floor to Santa Baby in a red jumpsuit and smothering cake on herself
‘I’ve always respected and supported her privacy with everything I’ve had. I ask of you supportive and protective fans to do the same,’ he concluded. ‘Sometimes being over protective can cause more stress and damage.’
His post comes after she recently deactivated her Instagram account and raised eyebrows for not joining Asghari on an Instagram Live.
Fans voiced worry after she could be heard telling him: ‘I don’t wanna jump in, I have nothing to say. I don’t wanna talk to them right now.’
Spears, who has since returned to Instagram, has previously deleted her account for the sixth time (the third time in the past four months.)
Doing well: Earlier this week Sam shed light on Britney’s decision to step back from social media amid speculation that her accounts are being controlled again
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested by Bahamian authorities Monday evening after the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York shared a sealed indictment with the Bahamian government, setting the stage for extradition and U.S. trial for the onetime crypto billionaire at the heart of the crypto exchange’s collapse.
Before his arrest was announced, Bankman-Fried had been expected to testify virtually before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday, but his attorneys told CNBC that he will not testify.
His arrest is the first concrete move by regulators to hold individuals accountable for the multi-billion dollar implosion of FTX last month.
Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said on Twitter that the federal government anticipated moving to “unseal the indictment in the morning.” The New York times reported that the charges include wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy, and money laundering, according to the New York Times, citing a person familiar with the matter.
Bahamas Attorney General Ryan Pinder said that the United States was “likely to request his extradition.” The Royal Bahamas police force confirmed his arrest and said he would appear in magistrate court in Nassau on Tuesday.
In a statement, Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis said, “The Bahamas and the United States have a shared interest in holding accountable all individuals associated with FTX who may have betrayed the public trust and broken the law.”
“While the United States is pursuing criminal charges against SBF individually, The Bahamas will continue its own regulatory and criminal investigations into the collapse of FTX, with the continued cooperation of its law enforcement and regulatory partners in the United States and elsewhere,” continued the statement.
Bahamian regulators and FTX’s attorneys had been engaged in a bruising battle in chambers and in the court of public opinion. Earlier Monday, FTX attorneys accused the Bahamian government of allegedly working with Bankman-Fried to spirit away FTX assets from company control and into into crypto wallets controlled by Bahamian regulators.
Bankman-Fried’s arrest by Bahamas law enforcement, as well as his expected extradition, suggest that close cooperation between the Bahamas and the U.S. will continue to evolve throughout the bankruptcy proceedings. The Bahamas and the United States have had an extradition treaty in place since the early 20th century, when the Bahamas was still under British control. The current treaty was signed in 1990 and requires that the requesting party provide an arrest warrant issued by a judge or “other competent authority.”
In November, FTX and its affiliates filed for bankruptcy and Bankman-Fried stepped down from his role as CEO. The crypto trading firm imploded in spectacular fashion following a run on assets similar to a bank run.
FTX’s collapse was precipitated when reporting from CoinDesk revealed a highly concentrated position in self-issued FTT coins, which Bankman-Fried’s hedge fund Alameda Research used as collateral for billions in crypto loans. Binance, a rival exchange, announced it would sell its stake in FTT, spurring a massive withdrawal in funds. The company froze assets and declared bankruptcy days later. Reports later claimed that FTX had commingled customer funds with Bankman-Fried’s crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research, and that billions in customer deposits had been lost along the way.
Bankman-Fried was replaced by John J. Ray III, who had overseen Enron’s bankruptcy. Ray is also scheduled to testify before Congress this week. In prepared remarks released Monday, Ray said that FTX went on a “spending binge” from late 2021 through 2022, when approximately “$5 billion was spent buying a myriad of businesses and investments, many of which may be worth only a fraction of what was paid for them,” and that the firm made more than $1 billion in “loans and other payments…to insiders.”
Ray also confirmed media reports that FTX customer funds were commingled with assets from Alameda Research. Alameda used client funds to do margin trading, which exposed them to massive losses, Ray said.
Legal experts told CNBC that if the federal government pursues wire or bank fraud charges, Bankman-Fried could face life in prison without the possibility of supervised release. Such a severe punishment would be unusual but not extraordinary. Ponzi scheme mastermind Bernie Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison, an effective life sentence, for his massive ponzi scheme. FTX’s collapse has already triggered the demise of BlockFi Lending, and has thrown the entire space into disarray.
FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried attends a press conference at the FTX Arena in downtown Miami on Friday, June 4, 2021.
Matias J. Ocner | Miami Herald | Tribune News Service | Getty Images
Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced former CEO of FTX — the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange that was worth $32 billion a few weeks ago — has a real knack for self-promotional PR. For years, he cast himself in the likeness of a young boy genius turned business titan, capable of miraculously growing his crypto empire as other players got wiped out. Everyone from Silicon Valley’s top venture capitalists to A-list celebrities bought the act.
But during Bankman-Fried’s press junket of the last few weeks, the onetime wunderkind has spun a new narrative – one in which he was simply an inexperienced and novice businessman who was out of his depth, didn’t know what he was doing, and crucially, didn’t know what was happening at the businesses he founded.
It is quite the departure from the image he had carefully cultivated since launching his first crypto firm in 2017 – and according to former federal prosecutors, trial attorneys and legal experts speaking to CNBC, it recalls a classic legal defense dubbed the “bad businessman strategy.”
At least $8 billion in customer funds are missing, reportedly used to backstop billions in losses at Alameda Research, the hedge fund he also founded. Both of his companies are now bankrupt with billions of dollars worth of debt on the books. The CEO tapped to take over, John Ray III, said that “in his 40 years of legal and restructuring experience,” he had never seen “such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information as occurred here.” This is the same Ray who presided over Enron’s liquidation in the 2000s.
In America, it is not a crime to be a lousy or careless CEO with poor judgement. During his recent press tour from a remote location in the Bahamas, Bankman-Fried really leaned into his own ineptitude, largely blaming FTX’s collapse on poor risk management.
At least a dozen times in a conversation with Andrew Ross Sorkin, he appeared to deflect blame to Caroline Ellison, his counterpart (and one-time girlfriend) at Alameda. He says didn’t know how extremely leveraged Alameda was, and that he just didn’t know about a lot of things going on at his vast empire.
Bankman-Fried admitted he had a “bad month,” but denied committing fraud at his crypto exchange.
Fraud is the kind of criminal charge that can put you behind bars for life. With Bankman-Fried, the question is whether he misled FTX customers to believe their money was available, and not being used as collateral for loans or for other purposes, according to Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor and trial attorney who has represented clients in derivative-related claims and securities class actions.
“It sure looks like there’s a chargeable fraud case here,” said Mariotti. “If I represented Mr. Bankman-Fried, I would tell him he should be very concerned about prison time. That it should be an overriding concern for him.”
But for the moment, Bankman-Fried appears unconcerned with his personal legal exposure. When Sorkin asked him if he was concerned about criminal liability, he demurred.
“I don’t think that — obviously, I don’t personally think that I have — I think the real answer is it’s not — it sounds weird to say it, but I think the real answer is it’s not what I’m focusing on,” Bankman-Fried told Sorkin. “It’s — there’s going to be a time and a place for me to think about myself and my own future. But I don’t think this is it.”
Comments such as these, paired with the lack of apparent action by regulators or authorities, have helped inspire fury among many in the industry – not just those who lost their money. The spectacular collapse of FTX and SBF blindsided investors, customers, venture capitalists and Wall Street alike.
Bankman-Fried did not respond to a request for comment. Representatives for his former law firm, Paul, Weiss, did not immediately respond to comment. Semafor reported earlier that Bankman-Fried’s new attorney was Greg Joseph, a partner at Joseph Hage Aaronson.
Both of Bankman-Fried’s parents are highly respected Stanford Law School professors. Semafor also reported that another Stanford Law professor, David Mills, was advising Bankman-Fried.
Mills, Joseph and Bankman-Fried’s parents did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
What kind of legal trouble could he be in?
Bankman-Fried could face a host of potential charges – civil and criminal – as well as private lawsuits from millions of FTX creditors, legal experts told CNBC.
For now, this is all purely hypothetical. Bankman-Fried has not been charged, tried, nor convicted of any crime yet.
Richard Levin is a partner at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, where he chairs the fintech and regulation practice. He’s been involved in the fintech industry since the early 1990s, and has represented clients before the Securities and Exchange Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Congress. All three of those entities have begun probing Bankman-Fried.
There are three different, possibly simultaneous legal threats that Bankman-Fried faces in the United States alone, Levin told CNBC.
First is criminal action from the U.S. Department of Justice, for potential “criminal violations of securities laws, bank fraud laws, and wire fraud laws,” Levin said.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York declined to comment.
Securing a conviction is always challenging in a criminal case.
Mariotti, the former federal prosecutor is intricately familiar with how the government would build a case. He told CNBC, “prosecutors would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Bankman-Fried or his associates committed criminal fraud.”
“The argument would be that Alameda was tricking these people into getting their money so they could use it to prop up a different business,” Mariotti said.
“If you’re a hedge fund and you’re accepting customer funds, you actually have a fiduciary duty [to the customer],” Mariotti said.
Prosecutors could argue that FTX breached that fiduciary duty by allegedly using customer funds to artificially stabilize the price of FTX’s own FTT coin, Mariotti said.
But intent is also a factor in fraud cases, and Bankman-Fried insists he didn’t know about potentially fraudulent activity. He told Sorkin that he “didn’t knowingly commingle funds.”
“I didn’t ever try to commit fraud,” Bankman-Fried said.
Beyond criminal charges, Bankman-Fried could also be facing civil enforcement action. “That could be brought by the Securities Exchange Commission, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and by state banking and securities regulators,” Levin continued.
“On a third level, there’s also plenty of class actions that can be brought, so there are multiple levels of potential exposure for […] the executives involved with FTX,” Levin concluded.
Who is likely to go after him?
The Department of Justice is most likely to pursue criminal charges in the U.S. The Wall Street Journal reported that the DOJ and the SEC were both probing FTX’s collapse, and were in close contact with each other.
That kind of cooperation allows for criminal and civil probes to proceed simultaneously, and allows regulators and law enforcement to gather information more effectively.
But it isn’t clear whether the SEC or the CFTC will take the lead in securing civil damages.
An SEC spokesperson said the agency does not comment on the existence or nonexistence of a possible investigation. The CFTC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“The question of who would be taking the lead there, whether it be the SEC or CFTC, depends on whether or not there were securities involved,” Mariotti, the former federal prosecutor, told CNBC.
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, who met with Bankman-Fried and FTX executives in spring 2022, has said publicly that “many crypto tokens are securities,” which would make his agency the primary regulator. But many exchanges, including FTX, have crypto derivatives platforms that sell financial products like futures and options, which fall under the CFTC’s jurisdiction.
“For selling unregistered securities without a registration or an exemption, you could be looking at the Securities Exchange Commission suing for disgorgement — monetary penalties,” said Levin, who’s represented clients before both agencies.
“They can also sue, possibly, claiming that FTX was operating an unregistered securities market,” Levin said.
Then there are the overseas regulators that oversaw any of the myriad FTX subsidiaries.
The Securities Commission of The Bahamas believes it has jurisdiction, and went as far as to file a separate case in New York bankruptcy court. That case has since been folded into FTX’s main bankruptcy protection proceedings, but Bahamian regulators continue to investigate FTX’s activities.
Court filings allege that Bahamian regulators have moved customer digital assets from FTX custody into their own. Bahamian regulators insist that they’re proceeding by the book, under the country’s groundbreaking crypto regulations — unlike many nations, the Bahamas has a robust legal framework for digital assets.
But crypto investors aren’t sold on their competence.
“The Bahamas clearly lack the institutional infrastructure to tackle a fraud this complex and have been completely derelict in their duty,” Castle Island Ventures partner Nic Carter told CNBC. (Carter was not an FTX investor, and told CNBC that his fund passed on early FTX rounds.)
“There is no question of standing. U.S. courts have obvious access points here and numerous parts of Sam’s empire touched the U.S. Every day the U.S. leaves this in the hands of the Bahamas is a lost opportunity,” he continued.
Investors who have lost their savings aren’t waiting. Class-action suits have already been filed against FTX endorsers, like comedian Larry David and football superstar Tom Brady. One suit excoriated the celebrity endorsers for allegedly failing to do their “due diligence prior to marketing [FTX] to the public.”
FTX’s industry peers are also filing suit against Bankman-Fried. BlockFi sued Bankman-Fried in November, seeking unnamed collateral that the former billionaire provided for the crypto lending firm.
FTX and Bankman-Fried had previously rescued BlockFi from insolvency in June, but when FTX failed, BlockFi was left with a similar liquidity problem and filed for bankruptcy protection in New Jersey.
Bankman-Fried has also been sued in Florida and California federal courts. He faces class-action suits in both states over “one of the great frauds in history,” a California court filing said.
The largest securities class-action settlement was for $7.2 billion in the Enron accounting fraud case, according to Stanford research. The possibility of a multibillion-dollar settlement would come on top of civil and criminal fines that Bankman-Fried faces.
But the onus should be on the U.S. government to pursue Bankman-Fried, Carter told CNBC, not on private investors or overseas regulators.
“The U.S. isn’t shy about using foreign proxies to go after Assange — why in this case have they suddenly found their restraint?”
What penalties could he face?
Wire fraud is the most likely criminal charge Bankman-Fried would face. If the DOJ were able to secure a conviction, a judge would look to several factors to determine how long to sentence him.
Braden Perry was once a senior trial lawyer for the CFTC, FTX’s only official U.S. regulator. He’s now a partner at Kennyhertz Perry, where he advises clients on anti-money laundering, compliance and enforcement issues.
Based on the size of the losses, if Bankman-Fried is convicted of fraud or other charges, he could be behind bars for years — potentially for the rest of his life, Perry said. But the length of any potential sentence is hard to predict.
“In the federal system, each crime always has a starting point,” Perry told CNBC.
Federal sentencing guidelines follow a numeric system to determine the maximum and minimum allowable sentence, but the system can be esoteric. The scale, or “offense level,” starts at one, and maxes out at 43.
A wire fraud conviction rates as a seven on the scale, with a minimum sentence ranging from zero to six months.
But mitigating factors and enhancements can alter that rating, Perry told CNBC.
“The dollar value of loss plays a significant role. Under the guidelines, any loss above $550 million adds 30 points to the base level offense,” Perry said. FTX customers have lost billions.
“Having 25 or more victims adds 6 points, [and] use of certain regulated markets adds 4,” Perry continued.
In this hypothetical scenario, Bankman-Fried would max out the scale at 43, based on those enhancements. That means Bankman-Fried could be facing life in federal prison, without the possibility of supervised release, if he’s convicted on a single wire fraud offense.
But that sentence can be reduced by mitigating factors – circumstances that would lessen the severity of any alleged crimes.
“In practice, many white-collar defendants are sentenced to lesser sentences than what the guidelines dictate,” Perry told CNBC, Even in large fraud cases, that 30-point enhancement previously mentioned can be considered punitive.
By way of comparison, Stefan Qin, the Australian founder of a $90 million cryptocurrency hedge fund, was sentenced to more than seven years in prison after he pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud. Roger Nils-Jonas Karlsson, a Swedish national accused by the United States of defrauding over 3,500 victims of more than $16 million was sentenced to 15 years in prison for securities fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.
Bankman-Fried could also face massive civil fines. Bankman-Fried was once a multibillionaire, but claimed he was down to his last $100,000 in a conversation with CNBC’s Sorkin at the DealBook Summit last week.
“Depending on what is discovered as part of the investigations by law enforcement and the civil authorities, you could be looking at both heavy monetary penalties and potential incarceration for decades,” Levin told CNBC.
How long will it take?
Whatever happens won’t happen quickly.
In the most famous fraud case in recent years, Bernie Madoff was arrested within 24 hours of federal authorities learning of his multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme. But Madoff was in New York and admitted to his crime on the spot.
The FTX founder is in the Bahamas and hasn’t admitted wrongdoing. Short of a voluntary return, any efforts to apprehend him would require extradition.
With hundreds of subsidiaries and bank accounts, and thousands of creditors, it’ll take prosecutors and regulators time to work through everything.
Similar cases “took years to put together,” said Mariotti. At FTX, where record keeping was spotty at best, collecting enough data to prosecute could be much harder. Expenses were reportedly handled through messaging software, for example, making it difficult to pinpoint how and when money flowed out for legitimate expenses.
In Enron’s bankruptcy, senior executives weren’t charged until nearly three years after the company went under. That kind of timeline infuriates some in the crypto community.
“The fact that Sam is still walking free and unencumbered, presumably able to cover his tracks and destroy evidence, is a travesty,” said Carter.
But just because law enforcement is tight-lipped, that doesn’t mean they’re standing down.
“People should not jump to the conclusion that something is not happening just because it has not been publicly disclosed,” Levin told CNBC.
Could he just disappear?
“That’s always a possibility with the money that someone has,” Perry said, although Bankman-Fried claims he’s down to one working credit card. But Perry doesn’t think it’s likely. “I believe that there has been likely some negotiation with his attorneys, and the prosecutors and other regulators that are looking into this, to ensure them that when the time comes […] he’s not fleeing somewhere,” Perry told CNBC.
In the meantime, Bankman-Fried won’t be resting easy as he waits for the hammer to drop. Rep. Maxine Waters extended a Twitter invitation for him to appear before a Dec. 13 hearing.
Bankman-Fried responded on Twitter, telling Waters that if he understands what happened at FTX by then, he’d appear.
Correction: Caroline Ellison is Bankman-Fried’s counterpart at Alameda. An earlier version misspelled her name.
MOUNT HOPE, The Bronx (WABC) — Police are investigating after a three-year-old boy and an 11-month-old boy were stabbed to death in the Bronx.
It happened at a family shelter on Echo Place in Mount Hope on Saturday evening. The boys were found with multiple stab wounds to the neck and torso.
NYPD held an update Saturday night:
When police arrived they found the mother inside the apartment on the third floor acting erratic. Sources say the mother then tried to burn the apartment down with the stove and then turned the water on.
Police then took the mother into custody. She was taken to the hospital for evaluation.
Less than an hour later, a second 911 call was then received reporting two unresponsive children at the same location. Officers returned to the apartment where they found the three-year-old and 11-month old with stab wounds. Officers and another family member attempted to resuscitate the boys, but they were unsuccessful.
Neighbors who live down the hall say the walls in the building are thin. They say they head the parents of the two young boys arguing and screaming earlier in the night. They also heard the boys father hysterically crying for help.
“He was screaming hysterically. He was screaming ‘help me.’ And I came and opened my door and I seen him coming down the hall with the two boys in his arms. They were dead, they were dead. There was blood everywhere,” said Shannon Holyfield.
The boys were rushed to Columbia Presbyterian in extremely critical condition where they later died.
ALSO READ | 16-year-old stabbed by another teen inside Staten Island Mall
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