Prosecutor opens trial for FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried saying he stole at least $10 billion
A prosecutor accused FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried of stealing at least $10 billion from his customers as opening statements began in a federal court trial in New York City
NEW YORK — A prosecutor opened a fraud trial Wednesday by telling jurors that FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was on top of the world a year ago, hobnobbing with celebrities, before his historic fraud was exposed, leaving customers and investors without at least $10 billion they thought was secure. A defense lawyer insisted his client didn't steal from anyone.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan Rehn repeatedly pointed at Bankman-Fried, sitting with his lawyers in a suit, and accused him of “committing a massive fraud.”
He said Bankman-Fried told lies to his investors while he spent their money on himself, his friends and family, buying lavish homes and beachfront property in the Bahamas, spending millions of dollars on political donations to gain influence in Washington.
Bankman-Fried, 31, maintains he was not to blame for a massive fraud that prosecutors allege in seven charges, including wire fraud and conspiracy, brought against him since his arrest last December in the Bahamas. In court Wednesday, he sat with a water bottle and a laptop computer in front of him.
They say the California man defrauded thousands of investors and customers in his businesses of billions of dollars by siphoning off their money for his own uses, including financing his businesses and making big political contributions to try to influence government regulation of cryptocurrency.
Defense lawyers insist their client had no criminal intent as he became famous in the crypto world while growing FTX and a related business, Alameda Research, into multibillion dollar heavyweights in
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