Sam Bankman-Fried’s Trial Begins Tomorrow: What to Expect”

After nine months and 20 days since the arrest of FTX founder Sam Bankman Fried from his stay in the Bahamas, the trial of SBF is finally set to begin from 3rd October (Tuesday) onwards in the Court of Southern District of New York. 

The Case in Short 

FTX’s bankruptcy proceedings, civil lawsuits brought by US financial authorities, and court papers in the criminal case against Bankman-Fried have all shed light on the circumstances and actions that led to the disappearance of millions of dollars worth of client cash.

The DOJ asserts that FTX was unable to pay withdrawals because Bankman-Fried had improperly handled and misappropriated money that had been used to finance risky trading activity make loans to himself and others, make investments, acquire companies, buy real estate, run marketing campaigns, make political donations, and pay off debt.

Bankman-Fried is facing a total of 13 criminal counts from the U.S. Department of Justice, 7 of which will be addressed during the preliminary hearing. The second hearing is scheduled to take place in March 2024.

Bankman-Fried entered a not-guilty plea to all seven allegations in January. He was detained in August after the prosecution claimed he interfered with witnesses despite spending most of the interim time under house arrest. The former crypto wunderkind may be sentenced to decades in jail if found guilty after the trial, which is anticipated to last around a month.

Persons Accused in the Case

1. Sam Bankman-Fried
2. Caroline Ellison: Alameda Research CEO and Bankman-Fried romantic partner has pleaded guilty to seven criminal charges.
3. Gary Wang: co-founder of FTX and Alameda Research, has pleaded guilty to four criminal charges.
4. Nishad Singh, Former Meta engineer, has pleaded guilty to six criminal charges following his headhunt by Bankman-Fried.
5. Changpeng Zhao: Binance CEO Zhao faces legal issues and regulatory charges, while Bankman-Fried blames his tweets for FTX’s collapse.
6. Barbara Fried and Joseph Bankman: Stanford Law School professors and Bankman-Fried parents are facing a lawsuit for millions of dollars allegedly gifted through FTX fraud, which they deny.

Charges Involved – 

• conspiracy to defraud FTX customers via wire fraud
• Wire fraud against FTX customers
• conspiracy to defraud Alameda Research’s lenders via wire fraud
• Wire fraud against Alameda Research’s lenders
• FTX clients are the target of a fraud scheme involving acquiring and selling derivatives.
• conspiracy to defraud FTX investors of their money
• collaborating to launder money