{"id":2080127,"date":"2023-10-26T12:43:02","date_gmt":"2023-10-26T16:43:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ftx-founder-sam-bankman-fried-kicks-off-fraud-trial-defense-case\/"},"modified":"2023-10-26T12:45:21","modified_gmt":"2023-10-26T16:45:21","slug":"ftx-founder-sam-bankman-fried-kicks-off-fraud-trial-defense-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ftx-founder-sam-bankman-fried-kicks-off-fraud-trial-defense-case\/","title":{"rendered":"FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried begins defense in fraud trial."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fftx-founder-sam-bankman-fried-kicks-off-fraud-trial-defense-case%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2080127&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p><!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p><span class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__small__1kGq2\" data-testid=\"Text\">By <\/span>Luc\u200d Cohen<span class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__small__1kGq2\" data-testid=\"Text\"> and <\/span>Jody Godoy<\/p>\n<p>October 26, 2023 \u2013 3:56 PM UTC<\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1663871513696-art-3\" style=\"min-width: 320px; min-height: 50px; text-align: center;\">  \t<script>  \t\tgoogletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1663871513696-art-3'); });  \t<\/script>  <\/div>\n<div class=\"ad-slot__ad-label\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p><h2>FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried&#8217;s\u2062 Fraud Trial \u2063Begins<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><h3>Lawyers for FTX \u200bfounder Sam Bankman-Fried \u200dkicked off \u200ctheir case at his fraud trial on Thursday\u200c following 12 days\u2063 of prosecution testimony.<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p>Bankman-Fried \u200dis expected to testify in his own defense after two\u2062 brief witnesses, his lawyer Christian Everdell said\u2063 in court outside the jury\u2019s presence. Those first witnesses will be Krystal Rolle, Bankman-Fried\u2019s lawyer in the Bahamas, and database expert\u200d Joseph Pimbley, Everdell said.<\/p>\n<p>For Bankman-Fried, taking the stand is a\u200c risky\u2063 move that would give prosecutors the chance\u2062 to cross-examine the 31-year-old former billionaire \u2063about testimony from former close colleagues that he directed them to commit crimes.<\/p>\n<p>After the prosecution rested\u200b its case after \u200bpresenting 12 days of testimony, U.S. \u2062District Judge Lewis\u200d Kaplan denied a defense request to acquit Bankman-Fried before the case goes to the jury. Defense lawyer Mark Cohen argued that prosecutors had not set forth\u200d \u201cviable legal theories\u201d of wire fraud, which prosecutor Nicolas Roos disputed.<\/p>\n<p>Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to two counts of fraud and five counts of conspiracy. If convicted, Bankman-Fried could face decades in prison. Prosecutors have said Bankman-Fried used the misappropriated\u2062 funds \u2062to prop up his \u2064<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/feds-seized-nearly-700-million-from-ftx-founder-bankman-fried\/\" title=\"Feds Seized Nearly 0 Million From FTX Founder Bankman-Fried\">crypto-focused hedge fund<\/a>, Alameda Research, make speculative venture investments, and donate more than $100 million to \u200cU.S. political campaigns.<\/p>\n<p>Kaplan said some of Bankman-Fried\u2019s testimony would \u200btake place outside the jury\u2019s\u2063 presence so he can decide\u200d whether it is admissible as evidence.<\/p>\n<p>That would include any testimony about the involvement\u200b of FTX lawyers \u200din structuring loans from Alameda to FTX executives, which prosecutors have said was a key way the defendant\u2063 and \u200bothers took funds from unwitting customers.<\/p>\n<p>Cohen said \u200bin a Wednesday letter to \u2062Kaplan\u200d that Bankman-Fried\u2019s \u201cknowledge that lawyers were involved in structuring and \u200cdocumenting the loans would be probative of his good-faith belief that there was nothing inappropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors may ask Bankman-Fried on cross-examination\u200b about why he did not\u2062 disclose Alameda\u2019s privileges to FTX customers or equity investors, and why he posted on social media in the midst of a wave of customer \u2064withdrawals last November that FTX was \u201cfine\u201d when \u200dhe \u200dknew it was \u200bshort billions \u200cof dollars in funds.<\/p>\n<p>Legal experts have said \u2063Bankman-Fried\u2063 has little to lose by bucking conventional wisdom and testifying, given weeks of testimony against him by insiders painting an unflattering portrait of his character.<\/p>\n<p>He has already taken an unusual approach for a criminal defendant. Instead of laying low after he was \u2062charged, he published blog posts on his view of what went wrong \u2063and met with several journalists.<\/p>\n<p>Bankman-Fried has maintained that while he made\u200d mistakes running FTX, he never intended to steal funds. His lawyers \u200chave said three of his former colleagues, who have pleaded guilty\u200c and agreed to\u200c cooperate with prosecutors, tailored their testimony to implicate Bankman-Fried in the hopes of receiving\u2063 lenient sentences.<\/p>\n<p>The final prosecution witness, FBI agent Marc Troiano,\u2063 testified about Bankman-Fried\u2019s use of the \u2062encrpyted messaging application Signal when the trial resumed on Thursday morning in federal court in\u2064 Manhattan \u2064after\u2062 a week-long break.<\/p>\n<p>Troiano said Signal groups that Bankman-Fried was in with colleagues often were set to delete messages automatically, as\u2064 jurors saw screenshots from a phone belonging to Caroline Ellison, the former chief executive of \u200bBankman-Fried\u2019s Alameda Research hedge fund and his on-and-off girlfriend.<\/p>\n<p>Ellison testified earlier in the\u2063 trial that\u2063 Bankman-Fried\u200b directed employees to\u2062 \u201cbe careful with what we put in \u200cwriting, and not put into writing something that could get us \u2064into legal trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cohen \u200dsaid Bankman-Fried\u2019s direct testimony could\u2064 last close to five hours.<\/p>\n<p>Reporting by Luc Cohen and Jody Godoy in New York; Editing by Will Dunham, Noeleen Walder\u200d and Jonathan \u2063Oatis<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1663871513696-art-4\" style=\"min-width: 320px; min-height: 50px; text-align: center;\">  \t<script>  \t\tgoogletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1663871513696-art-4'); });  \t<\/script>  <\/div>\n<div class=\"ad-slot__ad-label\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<p class=\"dpsp-share-text\" style=\"margin-bottom:10px\"> \t\t \t\tShare this post!\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>Illegal immigration continues to be a growing issue, and the war in Israel may continue to increase those problems and\u200d beyond.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>Louisiana Representative Mike Johnson becomes Speaker of the House and Judge Engoron fines\u2063 Trump for free speech.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>Hostage negotiations continue in an effort to free civilians kidnapped by \u2064Hamas. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>At least\u200c 33 Americans have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war so far, according to the Secretary\u2064 of State on Tuesday. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>Malaysia\u2019s communications regulator will issue a\u200b warning \u2063to social media\u2064 firms\u200b TikTok and Meta\u00a0for allegedly \u2064blocking pro-Palestinian \u2062content on\u2063 their platforms.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>Lawyers\u2062 for FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried kicked \u200boff their case at his fraud trial on Thursday.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>Microsoft is outstripping Alphabet\u2062 in the race to make money from\u200d generative \u200dAI through early bets on \u2062OpenAI and focus on big clients.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>Apple increased the subscription prices \u200dof Apple TV+ and Apple News+.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> rnrn  <\/p>\n<h2> \u200b What\u2063 specific allegations have been made against Sam Bankman-Fried \u2064by his \u200dformer close colleagues regarding\u200d his involvement\u200d in\u2064 committing crimes?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  \u200bFTX Founder Sam \u200cBankman-Fried&#8217;s Fraud Trial Begins<\/p>\n<p>By Luc Cohen and Jody \u200bGodoy<\/p>\n<p>October 26, 2023 \u2013 3:56 PM UTC<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement <\/p>\n<p>The fraud\u2064 trial\u2063 of FTX founder \u200bSam Bankman-Fried has commenced with the defense lawyers presenting their case after \u2062twelve days \u2062of \u200cprosecution testimony.\u200c Bankman-Fried\u200d is expected to testify in his own defense, following\u2064 the brief testimonies of Krystal Rolle,\u200b his lawyer in \u2064the Bahamas, and\u2063 Joseph\u2063 Pimbley, a \u200cdatabase expert. However, this decision comes with\u2063 inherent risks, as it allows prosecutors the opportunity\u200d to cross-examine Bankman-Fried regarding \u200dallegations made \u2063by former close colleagues that he instructed them to commit crimes.<\/p>\n<p>The prosecution concluded its case by\u2064 presenting twelve days of testimony, \u200cafter which U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan denied a defense request to acquit Bankman-Fried\u200c before the case goes to\u2062 the jury. Defense lawyer Mark Cohen argued that the prosecution had not provided viable legal\u200d theories of wire fraud, but this was \u2062disputed by prosecutor Nicolas \u2063Roos. Bankman-Fried is facing two\u2062 counts\u2062 of fraud and five counts of\u200c conspiracy, and if convicted, he could potentially face\u2062 decades\u2063 in prison. Prosecutors\u200b claim\u2063 that \u200dBankman-Fried\u2063 misappropriated funds to\u2064 support his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ftx-founder-sam-bankman-fried-kicks-off-fraud-trial-defense-case\/\" title=\"FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried begins defense in fraud trial.\">cryptocurrency-focused hedge fund<\/a>, Alameda Research,\u2063 make \u2064speculative venture investments, and donate \u200clarge sums \u2062to U.S. political campaigns.<\/p>\n<p>Judge Kaplan has determined\u200d that some \u200bof Bankman-Fried&#8217;s testimony will be \u2062heard outside the jury&#8217;s presence so that he can determine its admissibility as\u2063 evidence. This includes any testimony regarding the involvement of FTX lawyers in structuring loans \u2062from Alameda to FTX executives, as prosecutors allege\u2062 this was a key method in which Bankman-Fried and\u2064 others misappropriated funds from unsuspecting \u2063customers.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors may cross-examine Bankman-Fried regarding his failure to\u200b disclose\u2062 Alameda&#8217;s\u200c practices \u200cto FTX customers or equity investors and his posts on social media during\u2064 a period of\u200c significant customer withdrawals where\u200d he claimed that FTX \u2063was &#8220;fine,&#8221;\u2062 despite knowing that it was lacking billions of\u200b dollars in funds.<\/p>\n<p>Legal experts have suggested that Bankman-Fried has little to \u2063lose by\u200c testifying, considering the negative portrayal of his character \u2062presented by former colleagues during weeks of testimony against him. Bankman-Fried has already taken an unconventional approach by publishing \u200bblog posts and \u200bmeeting\u2062 with journalists \u200cto express his perspective on what \u200dwent \u200bwrong.<\/p>\n<p>Bankman-Fried maintains \u2064that \u200che made mistakes\u2062 in running FTX but\u2064 denies any intention to steal funds. His defense lawyers \u200dargue that the testimonies \u2063of three former colleagues, who have pleaded guilty and are cooperating with prosecutors, \u200dwere tailored to implicate Bankman-Fried in the hopes of receiving lenient sentences.<\/p>\n<p>The final prosecution witness, FBI agent Marc\u2063 Troiano, testified \u200babout Bankman-Fried&#8217;s use of the encrypted messaging application Signal. It was revealed<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried&#8217;s lawyers began presenting their case at his fraud trial after 12 days of prosecution testimony. Former colleagues from the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange testified that he instructed them to redirect customer funds. (55 words)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1911,"featured_media":2080128,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[542],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2080127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-oann"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2080127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1911"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2080127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2080127\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2080128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2080127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2080127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2080127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}