Sam Trabucco Forfeits $70M in Holdings: Apartments, Yacht, and Creditor Claims

Sam Trabucco, the former co-CEO of Alameda Research, is surrendering approximately $70 million in assets to FTX creditors following a court-approved settlement filed in late 2024. This major asset forfeiture represents one of the largest recovery efforts in the ongoing FTX bankruptcy proceedings. The arrangement marks a significant step in compensating those who lost funds in the December 2022 collapse of FTX and its affiliated hedge fund.

The Forfeiture Package: Breaking Down Trabucco’s $70M in Lost Assets

The settlement requires Trabucco to relinquish several high-value holdings. Among the primary assets are two San Francisco residential properties valued at $8.7 million combined. He is also giving up a 53-foot luxury yacht purchased in March 2022 for $2.5 million. Additionally, Trabucco must forfeit his legal claims against FTX creditors, which amount to approximately $70 million—the centerpiece of this forfeiture agreement.

The bankruptcy filing also highlighted that Trabucco received roughly $40 million in what courts term “potentially avoidable transfers” during his tenure at Alameda Research. These transfers are classified as payments that could be clawed back under bankruptcy law if they originated from FTX estate funds. This provision underscores how interconnected the financial flows were between Alameda and FTX, and how difficult it remains to untangle assets that may have been improperly transferred between the two entities.

From Co-CEO to Creditor Obligation: Trabucco’s Role at Alameda Research

Sam Trabucco held significant influence at Alameda Research, working closely with founder Sam Bankman-Fried. He departed the organization in August 2022, just months before both Alameda and FTX filed for bankruptcy protection. Though Trabucco has not publicly admitted to any misconduct, his public statements on X (formerly Twitter) suggested Alameda maintained an aggressive trading posture with substantial risk exposure. He notably refrained from claiming that either entity mismanaged customer or investor funds.

Alameda Research operated as a hedge fund specializing in cryptocurrency trading and arbitrage strategies. The organizational proximity between Alameda and FTX proved consequential—prosecutors have identified the relationship between the two companies as instrumental in FTX’s unraveling. The evidence indicates that cross-company financing mechanisms and asset transfers destabilized the financial health of both operations and jeopardized customer assets.

Legal Recovery Framework: How Bankruptcy Trustees Are Clawing Back Assets

The forfeiture of Trabucco’s holdings is part of a broader asset recovery campaign by FTX’s bankruptcy trustees. Similar forfeitures have been pursued against other senior executives from both FTX and Alameda Research. The FTX bankruptcy stands as one of the most complex in recent financial history, with recovery efforts concentrated on identifying executive assets and returning value to the thousands of creditors affected.

Investigators have also scrutinized the personal enrichment of senior leadership. Multiple executives, including Trabucco, accumulated substantial wealth through high compensation, asset transfers, and other FTX-related financial arrangements. In comparison, founder Sam Bankman-Fried faces multiple federal charges including wire fraud, securities violations, and money laundering allegations related to his management of both entities.

Broader Implications: What Trabucco’s Case Means for Crypto Compliance

The Trabucco forfeiture serves as a landmark precedent in the post-FTX regulatory landscape. The case has exposed significant compliance shortcomings and governance deficiencies within the cryptocurrency industry. Courts have ordered the liquidation of properties, financial claims, and luxury assets as financial penalties against former Alameda and FTX officers—a visible reminder of institutional accountability.

While Trabucco’s multi-million dollar forfeitures benefit creditor recovery efforts, the broader bankruptcy proceedings continue to evolve. The case has catalyzed discussions about regulatory oversight in digital finance and prompted industry-wide reassessment of risk management protocols. For the crypto community, the FTX collapse and ensuing legal actions represent a turning point in how compliance frameworks and governance standards are implemented and enforced.