Even experienced journalists got suckered by Sam Bankman-Fried.

By Stan Veuger, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is seen through glass as he walks through a revolving door on his way to a court appearance.

NOVEMBER 18, 2023, 6:00 AM

It only took a jury four hours to decide that former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried had committed large-scale fraud—and that included their lunch break. Leading politicians, investors, and observers, not to mention a number of high-profile journalists, in contrast, managed to stay oblivious to it for years. Two recent books illustrate how and why he got away with it, at least for a while.