FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried acknowledges in court that customers were hurt but denies fraud

abcnews.go.com:

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has begun testifying at his fraud trial, saying the innovative business he had hoped would move the cryptocurrency ecosystem forward ended up hurting customers instead

NEW YORK — FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried testified at his New York trial on Friday, denying that he defrauded anyone but acknowledging that the innovative business he had hoped would move the cryptocurrency ecosystem forward ended up hurting customers instead.

The onetime cryptocurrency golden boy lost his businesses and his reputation as a pioneering entrepreneur in an emerging facet of finance when a rush of customers withdrew their money last year, exposing that billions of dollars were missing.

Bankman-Fried, 31, acknowledged some of his failures early in his testimony in Manhattan federal court, saying he made mistakes, large and small.

“We thought we might be able to build the best product on the market” and move the cryptocurrency system forward, he said.

“It turned out basically the opposite of that,” and a lot of customers and others got hurt, Bankman-Fried said.

Asked by his lawyer, Mark Cohen, if he defrauded anyone or took customers' funds, Bankman-Fried answered, “No I did not."

The California entrepreneur has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy charges accusing him of diverting billions of dollars from his clients and investors to make risky investments, buy luxury housing, engage in a star-studded publicity campaign, and make large political and charitable donations.

His much-anticipated testimony became the centerpiece of a defense that has tried to convey that Bankman-Fried had no criminal intent as he took actions that prosecutors say were directly to blame for the collapse last November of businesses