The Republican senator from Louisiana told Atkins that he would “pounce” on him “like a ninja” if Atkins didn’t investigate the disgraced FTX founder’s parents who are both Stanford law professors.

Louisiana Republican Senator John Kennedy pulled no punches on Thursday when he firmly asked incoming U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Paul Atkins to launch an investigation into the dealings between Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents and the now bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

“Every time you come to this committee, I’m going to pounce on you like a ninja to find out what the SEC has done,” Kennedy warned. “Because I don’t think the SEC’s done a damn thing.”

Atkins is President Donald Trump’s pick for the top job at the regulator and was the subject of a nomination hearing on Thursday by the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, led by South Carolina Republican Senator Tim Scott.

Alan Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, Bankman-Fried’s law professor parents who both work at Stanford University, are alleged to have received a $16.4 million mansion in the Bahamas, $10 million in cash, another $10 million as a donation to Fried’s “Mind the Gap” political organization, and a $5.5 million donation to Stanford, according to a complaint filed by FTX on Sept. 18, 2023.

(Barbara Fried and Alan Joseph Bankman / Stanford Law)

“This action seeks to recover millions of dollars in fraudulently transferred and misappropriated funds from the parents of FTX Founder Samuel Bankman-Fried,” the document states. Bankman and Fried jointly filed a motion to dismiss the complaint on Jan. 15, 2024, claiming that they were not FTX officers and not employed in any capacity by the exchange, and did not aid or abet anyone, including their son, in defrauding company clients of billions of dollars. But Kennedy remains incredulous.

“They’re crooks and I expect the SEC to do something about it,” Kennedy shouted.

Atkins responded calmly throughout the exchange, albeit somewhat nervously, acknowledging that he had indeed read about the allegations, but he stopped short of levying accusations or even promising to take any specific form of action.

“Like you, I’m concerned about those reports,” Atkins said. “I look forward to getting to the SEC to find out what has happened.”

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