Alleged fraudster and Democratic megadonor Sam Bankman-Fried intends to testify at his criminal trial on Thursday, his lawyer asserted on Wednesday.
Bankman-Fried taking the stand will open him up to cross-examination from prosecutors about the collapse of his cryptocurrency exchange FTX, according to CNBC. Bankman-Fried is facing seven charges, including defrauding FTX customers and lenders by masterminding a scheme to divert billions of dollars to fund campaign contributions, donations to charities and real estate acquisitions. (RELATED: New Book Claims That Alleged Fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried Considered Paying Trump $5 Billion Not To Run For President)
Cryptocurrency titan, Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of FTX, is set to take the stand to personally defend himself against accusations of fraud and conspiracy as his crypto empire spectacularly crumbled. In a high-stakes legal battle, Sam aims to clear his name, and all eyes are on… pic.twitter.com/uaVaeNVukQ
— Nathaniel Dougherty (@D94071Dougherty) October 25, 2023
“We are going to put on potentially three witnesses, then our client is also going to be testifying,” Bankman-Fried’s attorney Mark Cohen stated, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The disgraced crypto tycoon allegedly “misappropriated and embezzled FTX customer deposits, and used billions of dollars in stolen funds for a variety of purposes, including … to help fund over a hundred million dollars in campaign contributions to Democrats and Republicans to seek to influence cryptocurrency regulation,” according to an August indictment against him.
Bankman-Fried contributed more than $39 million to support Democrat-aligned causes, and was the second-largest individual contributor to them during the 2022 midterm election cycle, according to The Washington Post’s analysis of Federal Election Commission data.
Caroline Ellison, Bankman-Fried’s ex-girlfriend and former CEO of Alameda Research, which is the sister hedge fund to FTX, accused him of instructing her to commit fraud regarding FTX and Alameda’s relationship. She alleged that he put a system in place to enable Alameda to withdraw unlimited funds from the cryptocurrency exchange.
Cohen did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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