Sam Bankman-Fried built 'pyramid of deceit,' jury is told as trial nears end

investing.com:

By Luc Cohen and Jody Godoy

NEW YORK (Reuters) -FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried built the cryptocurrency exchange into a «pyramid of deceit» and stole billions of dollars from thousands of its customers, a prosecutor told jurors on Wednesday as Bankman-Fried's fraud trial neared its end.

The prosecution was delivering closing arguments in Bankman-Fried's trial in Manhattan federal court a day after the defense rested its case. Prosecutors have accused him of stealing $8 billion in one of the biggest financial frauds in U.S. history.

«This was a pyramid of deceit built by the defendant on a foundation of lies and false promises, all to get money,» prosecutor Nicolas Roos told the jury. «Eventually it collapsed, leaving thousands of victims in its wake.»

A lawyer for Bankman-Fried will give his closing argument once Roos finishes.

Bankman-Fried, 31, may learn his fate just shy of one year after FTX filed for bankruptcy in a swift corporate meltdown that shocked financial markets and wiped out what had been his estimated $26 billion fortune.

The defense wrapped up its case on Tuesday after Bankman-Fried underwent a second day of tough cross-examination by the prosecution — the risk he ran by opting to testify in this own defense. Bankman-Fried, who pleaded not guilty to two counts of fraud and five counts of conspiracy, tried over three days of testimony to convince the 12 jurors of his innocence.

In all, the jury heard 15 days of testimony in Manhattan federal court. Three of Bankman-Fried's former close confidantes, testifying for the prosecution after entering guilty pleas, said he directed them to commit financial crimes, including helping his crypto-focused Alameda Research hedge fund siphon FTX customer deposits and