Sam Bankman-Fried is a terrible client
Sam Bankman- Fried and the High-Stakes Case of a Low-Energy, Low-Density Charged Financial Crime
After Sam Bankman- Fried lost money at his FTX exchange, he chose not to say nothing or risk incriminating himself. He took media interviews. He was on a show. He tweeted incessantly. He started a Substack. He was arrested before he got the chance to testify, but he still promised to do so.
The prosecution says that Bankman- Fried’s company was a large amount of money. Bankman-Fried had the ability to use money from FTX customers.
Estes doesn’t think Bankman-Fried will take the stand if the strength of the prosecutions case isn’t clear. He is not required to testify. “It’s his decision. We will just have to wait and see. “If the government’s case isn’t going well—if they call witnesses that don’t appear very credible or the cross-examination goes terribly—there’s a possibility the defense will feel it doesn’t need to do anything.”
The decision to put the defendant on the stand is a high-stakes moment. They are exposed to questioning by the prosecution that they might otherwise avoid, and to different interpretations of their testimony by specific jurors. The defense hopes to carefully control the environment that was introduced by it.
Sam Bankman-Fried’s Bitcoin Exchange: A’math nerd’ in over his head, or was his empire ‘built on lies?’
The second was Bankman-Fried’s college roomate and longtime friend Adam Yevidia. He is a cooperating witness who has received immunity. He was hired as a software developer by SBF when he worked for Alameda for two months after finishing his PHD.
A commodities trader from London was called to testify. He said that when the exchange began to fall apart, he was unable to withdraw all his bitcoin, worth a total of $100,000.
Rehn urged jurors to scrutinize their testimony carefully. They will offer first-hand insights into Bankman-Fried’s fraud which the government alleges was carried out with their help.
Cohen urged jurors to be suspicious of testimony as they might be able to receive a lighter sentence due to their cooperation.
After Bankman-Fried was arrested in December, prosecutors filed criminal charges against four members of his inner circle, including Caroline Ellison, who was Bankman-Fried’s girlfriend at the time and CEO of Alameda Research.
Cohen criticized the government for displaying a photograph to the jury of Bankman-Fried in what was his trademark look before he was sent to jail in August: shorts and a t-shirt, with unkempt hair.
Bankman-Fried, who has been jailed for more than a month, appeared to pay close attention. He was allowed to use a laptop during the trial.
He lived in the $30 million apartment in The Bahamas, and went all over the world on private planes. Bankman-Fried had a lot of friends including actors, athletes and politicians.
Rehn charted the rise and equally dramatic fall of Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire, which include the cryptocurrency exchange FTX and a crypto-focused hedge fund, called Alameda Research.
“He had wealth. He had power. Rehn is the assistant US attorney for the Southern District of New York. All of that was built on lies.
Kicking off the trial of disgraced crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried with a lawyer’s remarks on the media coverage
The trial of disgraced crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried kicked off in earnest Wednesday with lawyers from both sides delivering their opening statements.
