Sam Bankman-Fried Ran A “Pyramid Of Deceit” And Is Guilty On All Charges, US Prosecutors Say

Updated: 02 November 2023

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Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) ran a “pyramid of deceit” and is “guilty beyond reasonable doubt” on all charges, Assistant US Attorney Nicholas Roos said yesterday, as the FTX founder’s trial enters its final stretch.

Prosecutors and defence lawyers gave their closing arguments on Wednesday, with Roos telling the jury that Bankman-Fried used FTX customer funds to cover personal expenses, property purchases, and political donations. He thought “he was smarter and could walk his way out of it,” he said.

“This is not about complicated issues of cryptocurrency,” he added. “It’s about lies, stealing, and greed. The core dispute here is whether the defendant knew that taking the money was wrong.”

AUSA Roos: $10 billion were missing. And the defendant was responsible. You're heard about Bitcoins and blockchains, so-called Korean accounts. Here's the thing. This is not about complicated issues of crypto currency. It's about lies and stealing and greed

— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) November 1, 2023

The prosecution’s closing arguments also appeared to absolve former FTX and Alameda employees Carole Ellison, Nishad Singh, and Gary Wang from being behind the loss of customer funds.

Roos argued that only Bankman-Fried had the authority to transfer money from FTX to Alameda. The prosecution pointed to instances when Ellison and Singh had advised him to refrain from misappropriating customer deposits.

AUSA Roos: Caroline told you her math was that spending $3 billion more was a bad idea. The defendant said he wanted to go ahead. He knew the money was coming from the customers. But he spent it anyway. He was questioned about it, and evaded

— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) November 1, 2023

“Let the evidence prevail over his story telling,” he said. “He lied. He is guilty. Reach that verdict: that he is guilty.”

Bankman-Fried Lawyer Says Government Portrayed Him As A Monster

Defence lawyer Mark Cohen disagreed with the prosecution, saying the government turned Bankman-Fried “into some sort of monster,” which was “wrong and unfair.”

Cohen also disputed the fraud charges, saying that Bankman-Fried was not a criminal mastermind as depicted by the prosecution as he had proposed closing Alameda.

In an emotional appeal to the jury, Cohen said that Bankman-Fried did his best at running two multi-billion-dollar businesses. He added that while some decisions were good, some turned out poorly.

SBF's Cohen: Good faith is a complete defense. Mistakes are not a crime. Why does the government get to speak twice? Because they have the burden of proof.

— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) November 1, 2023