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 whether it will present a case. If it decides to do so, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers have said it should take a week. And it could seize on statements Wang, Ellison, and Singh have made during their time on the stand.
SBF Trial Live Updates: Sam Bankman-Fried Still Ain't Sure
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...
Singh, former head of engineering at FTX and Alameda Research, was the last of the case’s co-defendants to testify and faces a maximum sentence of 75 years. Previously, the government called on former Alameda CEO Ellison and FTX co-founder Wang. The two former execs face maximum sentences of 110 and 50 years of prison time, respectively.
All three struck cooperation agreements with the government before Bankman-Fried’s trial began and pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges in hopes their cooperation could earn them more lenient sentences. That will be determined after a verdict is reached.
Bankman-Fried is fighting seven fraud and conspiracy charges that accuse him of dipping into billions of dollars of FTX customer funds through his trading firm, Alameda Research. Alameda had special privileges that allowed the firm to effectively borrow an unlimited amount of customers’ cash and crypto, Ellison, Wang, and Nishad have said.
DOJ Doesn't 'Intend to Proceed' With Campaign Finance Charge Against Sam Bankman-Fried
The U.S. Department of Justice has decided to drop one of the charges against Sam Bankman-Fried relating to political donations, citing "treaty obligations" with The Bahamas. The DOJ informed Judge Lewis A. Kaplan via a letter dated July 26 that it does not intend to proceed with the trial on the “unlawful campaign contributions” count. Campaign finance laws are connected to political donations, and charges can be brought against individuals or entities involved in the political process, includi...
On Monday, Singh spoke about Bankman-Fried’s approach to spending that “wreaked of flashiness and excess,” from a multi-million penthouse purchased in the Bahamas to venture capital investments and flashy FTX endorsement deals.
Singh said during his testimony Monday that he defrauded FTX’s customers and investors while also serving as a straw donor, or the name FTX put on checks when using customer funds to make political donations.
To be clear, campaign finance charges included in a superseding indictment against Bankman-Fried were dropped in July, and the scheme was subsequently folded into allegations of wire fraud for his October trial.
All three FTX insiders walked through wooden double doors to enter U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan’s Manhattan courtroom and sat several paces from Bankman-Fried. Facing the former crypto mogul from the stand, federal prosecutors were situated in between them.
At least several of the jurors have dozed off during the defense’s cross-examination of federal prosecutors’ witnesses. One member, who Decrypt has observed napping before, was getting some shuteye before noon on Tuesday.
Kaplan appeared ever-frustrated with the defense’s plodding pace through a panoply of topics, such as flaws in Alameda’s accounting system for keeping track of FTX customer funds and how liquidations worked on the exchange.
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...
The defense’s cross-examination has had its “rugged” moments, as called out by Judge Kaplan. At the same time, there’s a chance that Bankman-Fried’s defense secured some responses that dovetail with their telling of FTX’s collapse—previously described as a “perfect storm.”
The consistency of questions levied at key co-defendants has been reflected in some regards on both sides of the trial. Prosecutors have focussed on unpacking crimes that Wang, Ellison, and Singh say they have committed each time, while Bankman-Fried’s lawyers have routinely touched on the witnesses’ compensation, multi-million dollar bonuses included.
Early in the morning, before Cohen could elicit any point from Singh, the government’s objections derailed a line of questions. At one point, Judge Kaplan issued the defense a reminder to keep their questions focused, precise, and properly formed.
“I think it’s a little hard to start in the middle of the ocean at this point,” Kaplan said, addressing an objection to one of Cohen’s questions. “Let’s try to pin this down.”
Edited by Stacy Elliott.
