FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried testifies in fraud trial, admits to ‘mistakes’ but denies stealing billions from customers

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Bankman-Fried of using FTX customer funds to prop up Alameda, make speculative venture investments and donate more than $100 million to U.S. political campaigns. He also is accused of scheming to cheat Alameda's lenders and FTX investors.

Responding in a calm-sounding tone to defense lawyer Mark Cohen's questions, Bankman-Fried said he believed funds used for sponsorships and real estate came not from FTX's customers, as prosecutors allege, but from the company's revenue or capital it received from equity investors. He said he borrowed from Alameda, which he owned, to make political donations. Bankman-Fried sought to distance himself from specific actions he said three of his closest former colleagues - each of whom pleaded guilty to fraud and testified against him at trial - took without his firsthand involvement.

While they testified he directed them to take specific actions that furthered the theft of customer funds and lies to investors and lenders, Bankman-Fried portrayed himself as an aloof CEO who trusted his subordinates. Ellison, who was Bankman-Fried's former on-and-off girlfriend, testified on Oct. 11 that he directed her to falsify Alameda's balance sheets to keep lenders at bay during a June 2022 crash in crypto markets.

Bankman-Fried on Friday testified that while Ellison provided him a spreadsheet she was considering sending to a lender, he did not look at it in detail. "I remember looking over it and saying that it seemed reasonable to me," said Bankman-Fried, who occasionally looked toward the jury while testifying. Former FTX chief technology officer Gary Wang testified that Bankman-Fried directed him to implement changes in FTX's computer code that would give Alameda special privileges, such as a $65