FTX fraud case ‘nearly impossible’ to pass
The defense lawyer in Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial has admitted it was “almost impossible” to win the case from the start.
Inside’report Stanford Law School professor David Mills described Bloomberg’s reluctance to follow Bankman-Fried’s advice when he met with him face to face. damning statements from former partners It left FTX’s founder with his back against the wall.
“I thought it was almost impossible to win a case when three or four founders all said you did it.”said Mills.
“Even if everyone lies through their teeth, it is very, very difficult to win a case like this.”
The report also describes how Mills recommended that SBF’s legal defense accept the allegations of witnesses and the state investigation and try to convince the jury that Bankman-Fried intended to save the company from bankruptcy.
“I thought it was a great story. But you can’t say all these people are lying. Five people say one thing, one person says another. Well, you don’t have a chance, zero.”Mills commented.
The veteran criminal lawyer, businessman and academic also described Bankman-Fried as “the worst person ever cross-examined”; seven charges, given the former FTX CEO’s unsuccessful attempt to refute the damning revelations that ultimately led to him being found guilty of all crimes.
Mills also revealed that the FTX CEO agreed to lend his expertise to Bankman-Fried’s defense at the request of her parents. Mills, who is known to be a close friend of Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, worked on this case pro bono, adding that his passion and friendship for criminal law were the factors behind his involvement, adding:
“I’m not going to get emotionally involved in a case like this on a very deeply personal level.”
Bankman-Fried was found guilty of two counts of wire fraud, two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count each of securities fraud, commodities fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The 31-year-old is scheduled to be sentenced on March 28, 2024, by Judge Lewis Kaplan of New York, who is presiding over the high-profile case. Kaplan will have the final say on the length of Bankman-Fried’s sentence, while government prosecutors will make recommendations.
Translation by Walter Rizzo