Bankman-Fried takes the stand, but judge sends jurors away
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried took the stand in his criminal fraud trial Thursday in New York, but the judge announced jurors would be sent home for the day.
Judge Lewis Kaplan sent the jurors home so he could hear parts of Bankman-Fried’s testimony and decide what the jury would be allowed to hear, The Associated Press (AP) reported.
Bankman-Fried will testify Friday to share his version of how his multibillion dollar cryptocurrency company collapsed and caused major losses.
It appeared that Bankman-Fried was going to testify before the jury Thursday, but Kaplan changed plans and said he wanted to decide what Bankman-Fried could testify about, the AP reported.
“We’re in the home stretch,” Kaplan told jurors.
Defense lawyers asked Kaplan to acquit Bankman-Fried on Thursday on the grounds that prosecutors had failed to present sufficient evidence, which was rejected.
Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial began Oct. 2 in a Manhattan courthouse. He faces charges for orchestrating what prosecutors have described as “one of the biggest financial frauds in American history.”
The FTX founder, 31, was once valued at $32 billion until his company's collapse last year. He was arrested in the Bahamas in December and charged with various fraud and conspiracy charges. He faces charges for wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, securities fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to make unlawful political contributions and defraud the Federal Election Commission.
He also faces charges including securities fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to bribe foreign officials in another trial that is scheduled for March 2024.
Prosecutors allege Bankman-Fried used customer funds to prop up his cryptocurrency firm Alameda Research and fund political campaigns. Prosecutors also say he made misleading statements to investors about FTX's financial condition.
Bankman-Fried’s defense counsel, Mark Cohen, previously said the former crypto businessman would take the stand to defend himself against the prosecutors’ claims that he defrauded investors and stole from customers.
Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to seven counts of federal fraud and conspiracy surrounding FTX and sister company Alameda Research. Several members of his executive team have testified against him in the weeks since the trial began, including his ex-girlfriend and former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.