Sam Bankman-Fried sees upside in testifying at criminal trial, experts say

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Sam Bankman-Fried has little to lose by bucking conventional wisdom and taking the stand at his criminal fraud trial, following weeks of testimony that he stole billions of dollars from unwitting customers of his FTX cryptocurrency exchange, legal experts said.
Bankman-Fried plans to take the stand in his own defense, his lawyer Mark Cohen said at a court hearing on Wednesday.

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Doing so will expose Bankman-Fried to probing cross-examination by prosecutors who would come armed with documents, messages and testimony from cooperating witnesses that they can use to attack his credibility.
But given Bankman-Fried's penchant for risk, his willingness to speak publicly about the charges and prosecutors' unflattering portrayal of him at the trial, he may be betting on convincing even one juror that he did not intend to commit fraud, experts said.

«It's not irrational to testify, if you think you are going down because the evidence is so overwhelming,» defense attorney Ilene Jaroslaw said.

A spokesperson for Bankman-Fried declined to comment.
Prosecutors expect to rest their case as soon as Thursday morning, and Bankman-Fried could take the stand soon after.

For Bankman-Fried to be convicted of fraud, prosecutors must show beyond a reasonable doubt that he intended to defraud FTX customers or investors. The 12 jurors must agree unanimously to return a verdict.

Defendants are not required to testify