NEW YORK : Sam Bankman-Fried's fraud trial is in the homestretch, with U.S. prosecutors and defense lawyers expected on Wednesday to present closing arguments to jurors over whether the FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder stole billions of dollars from customers.
Bankman-Fried, 31, may learn his fate just shy of one year after FTX filed for bankruptcy in a swift corporate meltdown that shocked financial markets and wiped out what had been his estimated $26 billion fortune. Prosecutors have accused him of stealing $8 billion in one of the biggest financial frauds in U.S. history.
In all, the jury heard 15 days of testimony in Manhattan federal court. Three of Bankman-Fried's former close confidantes, testifying for the prosecution after entering guilty pleas, said he directed them to commit financial crimes, including helping his crypto-focused Alameda Research hedge fund siphon FTX customer deposits and lying to lenders and investors about the finances of the two companies.
Under questioning from his lawyer Mark Cohen, Bankman-Fried portrayed himself as a busy CEO who left operational nuts and bolts to subordinates. He also maintained that while he made mistakes that harmed customers and employees, he never defrauded anyone or stole money. During his second day of testimony on Monday - when the prosecution began its cross-examination - Bankman-Fried said"I don't recall" at least 28 times. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan frequently chided him for evading direct answers.
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