FTX Users Seek to Expand Lawsuit, Claim Law Firm Was the “Backbone” of Fraud

Customers of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX are moving to strengthen their class-action lawsuit against the law firm Fenwick & West, which the exchange had previously retained. They claim that newly uncovered evidence from investigations and court proceedings shows the firm played a central role in how the fraud within FTX was carried out. According to a court filing earlier this week, “the FTX fraud was only possible because of Fenwick’s significant assistance,” which allegedly included designing and approving corporate structures that facilitated the misuse of customer funds. FTX clients allege that the firm agreed to establish and represent highly conflicted entities such as sister company Alameda Research and subsidiary North Dimension, which “lacked any safeguards to prevent the loss of billions of dollars.”

Court Proceedings Reveal New Details The amended complaint states that criminal proceedings against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried revealed new information about Fenwick’s involvement. FTX co-founder Gary Wang, former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison, and ex-CTO Nishad Singh testified that Fenwick had been informed of the misuse of funds and gave advice on how to conceal such practices. Singh specifically claims the firm helped disguise unauthorized loans and falsified financial statements.

Independent Examiner: Fenwick Was Deeply Embedded in FTX’s Operations A report from an independent examiner appointed by the bankruptcy court stated that Fenwick was “deeply connected” to FTX’s leadership and involved in most key decisions that enabled unlawful conduct. The examiner claimed the firm helped create shell companies to mask asset transfers and was behind the introduction of automatic deletion of messages in the Signal app used by FTX executives.

New Legal Claims The amended lawsuit adds two new counts — alleged violations of securities laws in Florida and California. Fenwick is accused of actively participating in the design, promotion, and sale of unregistered securities, specifically the FTX Token (FTT) and yield-bearing accounts offered by FTX. Fenwick has consistently denied any wrongdoing, maintaining that its actions were within the scope of legal representation. A similar lawsuit was previously filed against another law firm, Sullivan & Cromwell, but later withdrawn due to insufficient evidence.

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