Ben McKenzie Exposes Crypto Scams in New Documentary Everyone Is Lying to You for Money

<.h2>Ben McKenzie Takes Aim at the Crypto Industry

Actor Ben McKenzie investigates the murky ethics and questionable claims of the cryptocurrency industry in a new documentary, Everyone Is Lying to You for Money, according to the source. The project highlights the stark human costs of digital asset speculation, featuring interviews with prominent industry figures like convicted FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried alongside everyday investors facing displacement and financial ruin.

McKenzie, an economics graduate and star of the teen drama The O.C., spent years researching the sector to understand whether companies act in the best interests of everyday retail investors. In the documentary, he describes bitcoin as possessing the feeling of a generational hallucination, according to the source.

Securing an Interview With Sam Bankman-Fried

During his multi-year investigation, McKenzie secured an interview with Sam Bankman-Fried by reaching out directly over Twitter before the cryptocurrency exchange FTX collapsed. According to the source, McKenzie asked Bankman-Fried about the extent of his political donations, causing the then-billionaire to stumble for words before his handler abruptly ended the conversation.

Regulators later determined those political contributions were illegal attempts to buy bipartisan influence. Bankman-Fried was subsequently convicted on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy, and a U.S. federal judge sentenced him to 25 years in federal prison.

Testifying Before the U.S. Senate

During that hearing, he told lawmakers that cryptocurrencies function poorly as a medium of exchange, unit of account, and store of value due to extreme market volatility, according to the source.

Displacement and Broken Promises in El Salvador

The documentary contrasts the downfall of high-profile executives with the struggles of citizens caught up in digital asset fever. In La Unión, El Salvador, McKenzie spoke with local residents facing displacement due to President Nayib Bukele’s controversial plan to construct a municipal development called Bitcoin City.

Fisherman Wilfredo Claros told McKenzie that the government offered his family only a fraction of their property’s true value, delivering an ultimatum to take the deal or leave, according to the source.

Foreign Speculators and Unfinished Dreams

El Salvador’s push to embrace digital currency has also drawn foreign speculators to rural areas. Corbin Keegan, an American citizen who moved to La Unión while waiting for construction on Bitcoin City to begin, told McKenzie he invested all his savings into bitcoin, according to the source. While waiting for the project to materialize, Keegan has been living in an unfinished, one-room cinder-block hut lacking indoor plumbing.

The investigative project also features ahead-of-demise footage of Alex Mashinsky, founder and former CEO of the trading and lending platform Celsius, which collapsed in 2022, according to the source. McKenzie maintains that his work is not intended to serve as financial guidance.

I am not here to offer financial advice, McKenzie says in archival footage featured in the film, according to the source. Many of my celebrity colleagues have effectively offered financial advice. They said, ‘Buy.’ I am the celebrity who said, ‘Be careful.’