The Trial of Sam Bankman-Fried

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By Decrypt October 31, 2023 In Bitcoin, FTX, Twitter

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CollectionsThe Trial of Sam Bankman-Fried

FTX founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried faces seven criminal charges related to the collapse of the once-dominant exchange. Here’s the latest on his trial.

Collection

Today

Sam Bankman-Fried Can’t Remember a Damn Thing

Sam Bankman-Fried’s memory faltered on Monday under the scope of questions posed by US Assistant Attorney Danielle Sassoon—as the government challenged his credibility on the witness stand. “I’m not sure. I don’t recall. I’m not sure exactly what you’re referring to,” Bankman-Fried said, after Sassoon inquired about Alameda Research, a crypto trading firm Bankman-Fried co-founded, and whether he claimed—at any point—his bankrupt trading firm was subject to the same rules as other customers of FT…

NewsLaw and OrderAndré BeganskiOct 30, 2023

Oct 27

Sam Bankman-Fried Says He Wanted to Sell FTX to Binance Since It Was Founded

During his testimony on Friday, Sam Bankman-Fried told the court that he intended to sell FTX to cryptocurrency exchange Binance when the firm was in its infancy. As Bankman-Fried worked with FTX co-founder Gary Wang in 2019 to construct the now-bankrupt exchange in Hong Kong, he said he already knew he wanted it to specialize in margin trading and offer customers the ability to make outsized bets. At the time, according to his court testimony today, Bankman-Fried believed that FTX could establ…

NewsLaw and Order4 min readAndré BeganskiOct 27, 2023

SBF Trial Live Updates: Sam Bankman-Fried Wanted to Sell FTX

The trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder of FTX and former crypto billionaire, has begun. Federal prosecutors accuse him of masterminding one of the most significant financial frauds in U.S. history. Bankman-Fried, once celebrated as a crypto billionaire, is alleged to have committed wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering while CEO of FTX. The case has been described by Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, as “one of the biggest financial…

NewsLaw and Order28 min readDecrypt StaffOct 27, 2023

Oct 26

Sam Bankman-Fried Testifies During Special Hearing—After The Jury Is Sent Home

Sam Bankman-Fried took the witness stand during his criminal trial on Thursday. But as the former crypto mogul spoke, the jury was nowhere to be found. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan—who presides over Bankman-Fried’s case—sent the group home around 2:00 pm. To assess whether certain topics should be precluded from Bankman-Fried’s testimony tomorrow, Judge Kaplan called for a special hearing. “We’re in the home stretch,” Kaplan said to the jurors as they were let go, assuring them that the week…

NewsLaw and Order3 min readAndré BeganskiOct 26, 2023

Oct 25

Sam Bankman-Fried Will Testify at His Criminal Trial

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried will testify during his criminal trial, hoping to convince a jury that he is not guilty of seven fraud and conspiracy charges, his defense lawyers said during a teleconference on Wednesday. The revelation comes as federal prosecutors are expected to wind their case down. They’ve signaled their final witness will be called to the stand on Thursday. After that, Bankman-Fried’s defense attorneys will have the opportunity to present their telling of FTX’s collapse. Bank…

NewsLaw and Order3 min readAndré BeganskiOct 25, 2023

Oct 23

What Are the Odds Sam Bankman-Fried Testifies in His Trial?

A defendant facing criminal charges has the right to testify during their trial, but many don’t. Now, several weeks into Sam Bankman-Fried’s case, the FTX founder still hasn’t decided whether he’ll take the stand. Bankman-Fried has remained silent so far, as he defends himself against seven fraud and conspiracy charges in federal court. Meanwhile, the jury has heard at length from FTX insiders, who’ve detailed Bankman-Fried’s state of mind throughout the arc of his exchange. “It almost feels nec…

NewsLaw and Order4 min readAndré BeganskiOct 23, 2023

Oct 20

Google and BlackRock Considered Investing in FTX as It Crumbled

FTX engaged BlackRock and Google as potential investors while Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange circled the drain last November, according to evidence submitted in the one-time wunderkind’s criminal trial on Thursday. Federal prosecutors offered a spreadsheet maintained by the now-defunct exchange connected to its fundraisers as FTX’s former general counsel, Can Sun, testified. The document includes info about various fundraising rounds—including one that Sun said “never closed.” According to…

NewsLaw and Order4 min readAndré BeganskiOct 20, 2023

Oct 19

SBF Asked Former FTX Lawyer to Find ‘Legal Justifications’ for Missing Customer Funds

FTX former general counsel, Can Sun, testified on Thursday that Sam Bankman-Fried asked him to craft “legal justifications” to explain why billions of dollars of customer funds were missing, as the exchange struggled to process customer withdrawals last November. As FTX melted down, Bankman-Fried thought the exchange could raise money from investment fund Apollo to stay afloat and satisfy customers rushing for the exit. The catch: Apollo wanted to know how a $7 billion shortfall could exist at…

NewsLaw and Order4 min readAndré BeganskiOct 19, 2023

Oct 18

CZ, Shaq and ‘Unethical Shit’: Twitter DMs Examined in Sam Bankman-Fried Trial

Sam Bankman-Fried’s controversial Twitter direct messages were examined today in court, with everything from NBA star Shaquille O’Neal to the crypto mogul’s apparently lax approach to regulation getting a mention. “Fuck regulators,” one message read out in court said. “They make everything worse.” Another series of Twitter DMs showed the disgraced crypto boss telling a reporter from Vox media outlet that he’d said “dumb shit.” In another thread, Bankman-Fried was quizzed on when he previously s…

NewsLaw and Order2 min readMat Di SalvoOct 18, 2023

FTX Was Supposed to Have $20 Billion in Customer Crypto—It Only Held $5 Billion

When crypto peaked in November of 2021, FTX’s customers thought they owned around $20 billion in digital assets. But according to an expert witness in Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial on Wednesday, the exchange’s digital wallets had closer to a quarter of that. Notre Dame Alumni Professor of Accountancy Peter Easton, who specializes in financial statement analysis, found that FTX’s digital wallets contained close to $5 billion in crypto when the industry boomed and Bitcoin’s price touched $69,…

NewsLaw and Order3 min readAndré BeganskiOct 18, 2023

DOJ Used All Its Star Witnesses—What Will Sam Bankman-Fried’s Defense Do Now?

FTX insiders Gary Wang, Caroline Ellison, and Nishad Singh concluded their respective testimonies on Tuesday, as FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial progressed past a key wave of witnesses in New York. The contours of the government’s case, across key facts and charges, have been molded mostly by the three. Their testimony is foundational to prosecutors’ account of Bankman-Fried’s wrongdoings, to which the former crypto mogul has pleaded not guilty. The defense hasn’t decided yet on w…

NewsLaw and Order4 min readAndré BeganskiOct 18, 2023

Oct 15

Sam Bankman-Fried Can’t Focus Without His Medication: Defense

Attorneys for Sam Bankman-Fried submitted a letter to Judge Lewis Kaplan on Sunday requesting that the FTX founder be allowed access to his prescribed medication during his ongoing fraud trial, saying he is unable to focus without it. The filing by the defense said that Bankman-Fried has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and was prescribed the medication Adderall to be taken throughout the day. However, since the beginning of his trial two weeks ago, he has only been permitted to t…

NewsLaw and Order3 min readOct 15, 2023

Sam Bankman-Fried’s Defense Wants More Latitude In Questioning Witnesses

Lawyers for disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) are moving to expand the scope of their questioning for the prosecution’s next round of witnesses after a bruising two weeks of testimony by members of the mogul’s inner circle. SBF’s lawyers raised concerns with what they said were restrictions on their available lines of questioning with government witnesses that they say block them from making a case for their client. To correct this, the defense asked for more room to explore defense…

NewsLaw and Order3 min readNicholas MorganOct 15, 2023

Oct 11

‘I Didn’t Have to Lie Anymore’—FTX Collapse Was a Relief, Says Caroline Ellison

While much of the jury’s attention has been consumed by alternative balance sheets and to-do lists throughout Caroline Ellison’s testimony, a tissue drawn by the former Alameda Research CEO on Wednesday afternoon represented a break from meticulous answers throughout her time on the stand. “I was in sort of a constant state of dread,” she testified. Ellison is the government’s star witness in its case against Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and former CEO of the once-dominant cryptocurrency exchange…

NewsLaw and Order3 min readAndré BeganskiOct 11, 2023

FTX, Thai Prostitutes and Chinese Bribes: Caroline Ellison Drops Explosive Allegations

Collapsed crypto exchange FTX tried to recover frozen funds from Alameda Research by using accounts registered to Thai prostitutes, ex-Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison told jurors today. In her second day of testimony, star witness Ellison took the stand on Wednesday to tell jurors that FTX insiders tapped the sex workers in a bid to try and reclaim $1 billion worth of funds frozen by the Chinese government. Ellison, who is Bankman-Fried’s ex-girlfriend and admitted fraud related to the col…

NewsLaw and Order2 min readMat Di SalvoOct 11, 2023

Twitter Thread Suggests Sam Bankman-Fried Mulled Shutting Alameda Months Before FTX Collapse

As part of the ongoing trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, an unpublished tweet thread has emerged, revealing the former CEO of FTX considered shuttering the sister hedge fund Alameda Research. The draft was written in September 2022, just two months before the collapse of FTX, the crypto exchange Bankman-Fried co-founded. His lawyers brought the thread back to the fold on Tuesday during questioning of FTX’s former CTO Gary Wang. “Alameda Research was a huge part of my life,” reads the thread publicly s…

NewsLaw and Order3 min readAndrew AsmakovOct 11, 2023

Oct 10

Caroline Ellison: Sam Bankman-Fried Told Me to Take Billions From FTX Customers

Former Alameda Research CEO and star witness Caroline Ellison today took the stand against alleged crypto crook Sam Bankman-Fried and told the jury that he directed her to commit crimes. Bankman-Fried’s ex-girlfriend, who in December admitted fraud related to the collapse of crypto exchange FTX, also told the courtroom that Bankman-Fried was the one “who set up the system to allow Alameda to take money.” “He directed me to commit these crimes,” Ellison said in her brief 15 minute appearance befo…

NewsLaw and Order3 min readOct 10, 2023

Sam Bankman-Fried’s Defense Seeks Details of Co-Founder’s Alameda Loan Deals

In the ongoing trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced crypto mogul’s lawyers are seeking permission to question FTX co-founder Gary Wang. Specifically, they’re seeking answers on whether legal advice played a role in Wang accepting loans from the collapsed crypto exchange’s sister fund Alameda Research. The defense’s request, filed on October 9, comes as the trial enters its second week and follows previous restrictions on Bankman-Fried’s ability to attribute the alleged fraud to his lawyers….

NewsBusiness3 min readAndrew AsmakovOct 10, 2023

Oct 9

Sam Bankman-Fried Lawyers May Already Be Angling for an Appeal, Says Former Prosecutor

Huddled with Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyers and prosecutors last week, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan gave the FTX founder’s defense a simple reminder just outside the jury’s earshot. “The goal here is not to set a record for the longest trial,” he said. “It’s to have the fairest trial.” After just a few days, Judge Kaplan had honed in on the defense’s use of the clock. In court, it’s been a point of contention that Bankman-Fried’s counsel has used its cross-examination of the DOJ’s witnesses to…

NewsLaw and Order5 min readAndré BeganskiOct 9, 2023

FTX Co-Founder Gary Wang Says Exchange Insurance Fund Was Fake

In his Friday testimony, FTX co-founder Gary Wang said the crypto exchange’s insurance fund balance differed from the actual funds held by the exchange. “For one, there is no FTT in the insurance fund,” Wang reportedly said, according to a retranscription of the trial’s fourth day posted on Twitter by BitMEX Research. “It’s just the USD number. And, two, the number listed here does not match what was in the database.” FTT was the native exchange token for the collapse crypto exchange. Many crypt…

NewsLaw and Order2 min readMattis MeichlerOct 9, 2023

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