Sam Bankman-Fried expected to plead not guilty in FTX case
GuardianJan 03, 2023
On Tuesday, founder and former CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX Sam Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty in a New York federal court. He was charged with fraud, conspiracy, violations of campaign finance law, and money laundering.
Prosecutors allege that under Bankman-Fried’s behest, FTX transferred billions in customer investments to his trading firm Alameda Research. A trial has been scheduled to start October 2, 2023, with Bankman-Fried facing up to 115 years in prison.
A plea of not guilty was Bankman-Fried’s only choice at this point because prosecutors don’t seem inclined to work with him now that they have Ellison and Wang on their side. But the government’s plea agreement with Bankman-Fried, who already admitted he made mistakes that he didn’t think were criminal, hints at something else that might happen before he gets to trial.
People in power often cross ethical bridges to protect themselves and their friends. Bankman-Fried was a major political donor. White House logs reveal he met with Biden administration officials four times in 2022. It won't be surprising if prosecutors strike a plea deal with Bankman-Fried and hide whatever role he played in the FTX fraud to protect the highest echelons of government power.
There's a 50% chance that Sam Bankman-Fried will be sentenced to at least 252 months in prison before 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.