The top “regulatory officer” at fallen crypto exchange FTX once served as an attorney for a company that was embroiled in a notorious online poker cheating scandal more than a decade ago — and was caught on tape allegedly aiding the perpetrators of the fraud, according to reports.
Dan Friedberg — a lawyer who was FTX’s chief regulatory officer in the months leading up to its collapse and who also did a stint as its general counsel — also had served as an attorney for UltimateBet, whose collapse was considered one of the largest online gambling scandals in history at the time.
In the alleged scheme — which reportedly claimed actor Ben Affleck among its victims — employees between 2005 and 2008 were accused of using a software exploit dubbed “God mode” to bilk players out of anywhere between $20 million and upwards of $50 million.
The scandal drew coverage from CBS News’ “60 Minutes” and spawned a cult documentary called “ UltimateBeat : Too Much To Lose.” FTX filed for bankruptcy last week. Friedberg, who reportedly resigned from FTX company earlier this month as it filed for bankruptcy, appears to have since scrubbed his LinkedIn account , which now displays a message “this page doesn’t exist”. Online bios for Friedberg said he joined FTX after a stint at the Seattle-based law firm Fenwick & West, where he chaired the payments systems practice .
FTX, meanwhile, has taken down an “about” page that listed short bios for its top executives, including disgraced ex-CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX co-founder Gary Wang and Friedberg, as well as links to their LinkedIn pages.
The UltimateBet scandal arose after revelations that some of the site’s employees were using the software exploit to peek at online opponents’ cards during hands and bet accordingly. Here’s the latest coverage on the collapse of crypto giant FTX
In 2008, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, the Canada-based regulatory body that licensed UltimateBet, said it “found clear and convincing evidence” that Russ Hamilton, a UltimateBet co-owner and consultant, “was the main person responsible” for the scam, along with a handful of accomplices.
Friedberg’s involvement surfaced after recordings […]
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