The lawyers of Sam Bankman-Fried are doing well
Timing the Trial of Sam Bankman-Fried: Defending a False Charge in the Formation of a Wall-Centric Company
In the three weeks since his trial began, Sam Bankman- Fried, founder of FTX, has watched as his former colleagues and friends testified in his defense. They testified to his greed, recklessness, and cruel behavior. His lawyers offered very little riposte, and have been pilloried for it. Ex-prosecutors say the strategy of the defense has been misinterpreted.
The Genesis blowback in November of 2022 gave rise to a Chapter 11 bankruptcy two months later, which caused about $900 million of the customers’ money to be lost.
In its opening statement, the defense implied it would try to defend Bankman-Fried by undermining the credibility of key witnesses, deflecting blame for fraudulent acts onto members of his inner circle, and demonstrating he acted in a way that any rational businessperson might have. The defense has been critiqued for not calling into question the reliability of the witnesses who will benefit from plea deals in exchange for their testimony.
Ellison left the stand practically unscathed, as did Gary Wang, FTX co-founder and CTO. Cohen pointed out that Nishad Singh, FTX director of engineering, took a large personal loan from the company after he had discovered the alleged theft of customer funds, but the defense only scored minor points against him.
