Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman Fried, who is facing fraud charges in the failed cryptocurrency exchange, walks outside the Manhattan Federal Courthouse in New York City, US, on March 30, 2023.
Amanda Perobelli | Reuters
Prosecutors in the criminal trial against FTX founder Sam Bankman Freed compared one of the defense arguments to: scene In the 1994 film Dumb and Dumber, actor Jim Carrey states that debt is “as valuable as money.”
Assistant U.S. attorneys for the Southern District of New York objected to some of the jury instructions provided by the defense team in a brief Thursday to Judge Lewis Kaplan, who is presiding over the Manhattan trial.
One particular directive tells prosecutors about two less intelligent friends (played by Carrey and Jeff Daniels) who go on a cross-country trip to Colorado to return a briefcase containing money to its owner. It reminded me of the 29-year-old comedy, but the cash was actually left as ransom.
“Even if it turns out that after an FTX customer deposited funds with FTX, they received a credit to trade on the FTX exchange and therefore received the right to later withdraw the same amount of funds upon request, that alone does not mean that they “This is not sufficient to prove that he had deposited funds with FTX. He was dispossessed of his property,” the defense’s jury instructions read.
Much of the government’s case centers on the billions of dollars that Bankman Fried’s cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, siphoned from customer accounts, mainly after the collapse of cryptocurrency prices, which led to the collapse of sister hedge fund Alameda. Used in an attempt to cover up research losses. The funds are also said to have been used to pay for a $35 million property in the Bahamas and to make political contributions.
Customers ultimately did not get most of their funds back because FTX and Alameda went bankrupt at the same time.
Prosecutors say the defense is trying to argue to jurors that even though the funds deposited by customers were used for other purposes and no longer existed, there was still a trust in the funds. Prosecutors said this argument was “irrelevant to the facts of the case” and that “a trust to obtain funds at a later date, if ultimately available, is clearly not the same as money or property itself.” It doesn’t have the same value and it doesn’t have the same value.” . ”
“A popular movie from the 1990s illustrates this point: A briefcase filled with money is not the same as a briefcase later filled with debts,” prosecutors wrote in a footnote. In “Dumb and Dumber,” when a briefcase arrives at its owner, it is stuffed with paper.
“It’s as good as money, sir,” says Carrey, who plays Lloyd Christmas.
actor jim carrey
Filippo Monteforte | AFP | Getty Images
Mark Cohen, Bankman Freed’s lead defense attorney, did not respond to a request for comment.
Bankman Freed, 31, faces seven criminal fraud charges related to the collapse of his cryptocurrency empire late last year. Bankman-Fried has maintained his innocence, but if convicted he could face life in prison.
The first three weeks of the trial were highlighted by testimony from Bankman Fried’s former close friends. They are also executives at FTX and Alameda, and have since turned against him, in part through plea deals with the government. The trial is expected to resume late next week and extend into November.
Judge Kaplan has held numerous sidebar meetings with the government’s lead counsel and Bankman Fried attorneys to discuss his conduct in court. Most recently, on Thursday, Mr. Kaplan persuaded lawyers on both sides to call Mr. Bankman Fried’s conduct criminal, even though recent expert witnesses specifically knew nothing about key details. He told the prosecutor that he had called him. Both sides were warned to behave better and communicate more with each other.
— CNBC’s Kate Rooney and Dawn Geer contributed to this report
clock: Prosecution in Sam Bankman Freed trial to conclude within days
