As expected, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to multiple fraud charges in the US and is now headed for trial in October.
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty on Tuesday in a Manhattan federal court to eight criminal charges, including wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy, according to a «Reuters» report. If convicted, the charges could result in a maximum sentence of 115 years in prison.
US district judge Lewis Kaplan has scheduled a trial of Bankman-Fried for October 2.
Prosecutor’s Evidence
Federal prosecutor Danielle Sassoon noted that the government had ample evidence to support the charges, adding that there are plans to turn over hundreds of thousands of documents in the coming weeks to the defense.
«Customer funds were also used and laundered through political donations, charitable donations and a variety of venture investments,» Sassoon said.
The US government has also already secured guilty pleas from ex-Alameda chief executive Caroline Ellison and former FTX chief technology officer Gary Wang, who are cooperating with prosecutors and may testify at the trial.
Bail Condition, Undisclosed Co-Signers
Kaplan set a new bail condition for Bankman-Fried not to access FTX or Alameda assets after Sassoon accused the former FTX CEO of seeking to make transfers to an unnamed foreign country that could be «more lenient».
Kaplan also granted Bankman-Fried’s request not to publicize the names of two additional co-signers for the bond, after his lawyer cited the risk of harassment from disclosure.
