Only a month ago, Sam Bankman-Fried was hailed as a new American icon — the vegan billionaire boy wonder of cryptocurrency with a plan to save the world.
Now his business empire is in ruins, his net worth has plunged to zero, and he is the target of multiple investigations as US authorities search for at least $US1 billion ($1.49 billion) in missing customer funds.
Some people who invested in Bankman-Fried's crypto exchange, FTX, fear they will never see their life savings again.
