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☆ Three hours to guilty: How the government nailed Sam Bankman-Fried
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-04 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

David Dee Delgado | ReutersIn Sam Bankman-Fried's fraud trial, prosecutors won quickly by keeping it simple. "While the cryptocurrency industry might be new and the players like Sam Bankman-Fried might be new, this kind of corruption is as old as time," Williams said. Sam Bankman-Fried's parents, seated to the left, react to the verdict. "Sam Bankman-Fried will be remembered as one of the biggest fraudsters of our lifetimes," Mariotti said. WATCH: Sam Bankman-Fried found guilty on all seven counts

Persons: Sam Bankman, David Dee Delgado, CNBC they'd, Yesha Yadav, Fried, Nicolas Roos, Danielle Sassoon, Crypto, Roos, Sassoon, Marc, Antoine Julliard, Renato Mariotti, who's, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, Damian Williams, Williams, Andrew Ross Sorkin, Sorkin, that's, It's, SBF, Mariotti, Paul Tuchmann, Wiggin, Dana, Tuchmann, Elizabeth Williams, Caroline Ellison, Bankman, Ellison, James Koutoulas, Koutoulas, Gary Wang, Nishad Singh, FTX coder Adam Yedidia, FTX's, Sun, Kevin J, O'Brien, Mark Cohen Organizations: FTX, Manhattan, Reuters, CNBC, Vanderbilt University ., U.S . Justice Department's Securities, Commodities, Southern, of, Prosecutors, Stanford, Alameda Research, New York Times DealBook, Washington , D.C, U.S, Justice Department, Trading Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission Locations: New York City, London, Chicago, U.S, of New York, Alameda, Washington ,, Bankman, New York

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried tried to pin his fraud scheme on his closest friends. Then they turned on him for it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

A jury found Sam Bankman-Fried guilty in his fraud trial over the collapse of FTX. One by one, his friends flipped to work with the prosecution and threw Bankman-Fried under a much bigger bus. That's how a jury found him guilty of seven counts in his federal fraud trial in downtown Manhattan on Thursday evening. AdvertisementAdvertisementSingh, for example, testified he was "blindsided and horrified" when he found out in November that Alameda had used FTX customer money. The sentencing schedule may depend on a second criminal trial Bankman-Fried faces for alleged illegal campaign contributions.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, SBF, —, FTX, –, Nicolas Roos, Jim Angel, Angel, Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, Nishad Singh, Bankman, Singh, blindsided, Ellison, Sam, Eduardo Munoz Alvarez, Wang, Singh —, Mark Cohen, Cohen, who'd, Adam Yedidia, Sun, deflating, they're, Chelsea Jia Feng, Danielle Sassoon, Roos Organizations: Service, Prosecutors, MIT, Georgetown, Financial Markets, Alameda, Bankman Locations: FTX, Alameda, Manhattan, Bankman

The witnesses painted a portrait of Mr. Bankman-Fried, 31, as a controlling boss who directed them to commit fraud. She was apprehensive about the move, she said, because she knew that would mean borrowing $1 billion in FTX customer funds for the transaction. “That’s OK, I think this is really important, we have to get it done,” Mr. Bankman-Fried told Ms. Ellison, according to her testimony. At Mr. Bankman-Fried’s urging, Mr. Sun said, he ran through a few theoretical options to justify the borrowing and spending of FTX customer money. But Mr. Sun, who testified after securing an agreement that prosecutors would not pursue charges against him, said he had once again told Mr. Bankman-Fried that none of those options were supported “by the facts.” Mr. Bankman-Fried responded by saying “something like, ‘Got it,’” Mr. Sun testified.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, Bankman, Caroline Ellison —, Adam Yedidia, Mr, Yedidia, FTX, ” Caroline Ellison Ms, Ellison, Ms, Gary Wang Mr, Wang, ”, coder, Nishad Singh Mr, Singh, Gabe, Gabe Bankman, ” Mr, Prosecutors, Barbara Fried, Nishad Singh, Sun, ’ Organizations: Alameda Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford, Mr, Prosecutors, America Locations: Bahamas, Alameda, Binance, Pandemics

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried lied under oath to shape his story around ex-friends who testified against him, prosecutors say in scathing closing argument
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Prosecutors say Sam Bankman-Fried lied under oath on the witness stand. AdvertisementAdvertisementIn closing arguments for Sam Bankman-Fried's criminal trial Wednesday, prosecutors say the disgraced cryptocurrency mogul repeatedly lied on the witness stand. Prosecutors allege Bankman-Fried defrauded millions of FTX customers by stealing their deposits and using them for Alameda. He used the money, prosecutors say, for personal investments, to repay loans, in extravagant advertising, to buy properties around the world, and for political donations. AdvertisementAdvertisementAlameda's account on FTX, Roos pointed out, did not even have the spot-margin trading option enabled.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, —, he's, Nicholas Roos, Roos, Mark Cohen, Danielle Sassoon, — Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, Nashad Singh —, Ryan Salame, Adam Yedidia, Sun Organizations: Service, MIT, Alameda Research, Miami Heat, Prosecutors Locations: Manhattan, Bankman, Alameda, FTX, Washington

The witnesses have painted a portrait of Mr. Bankman-Fried, 31, as a controlling boss who directed them to commit fraud. “That’s OK, I think this is really important, we have to get it done,” Mr. Bankman-Fried told Ms. Ellison, according to her testimony. At Mr. Bankman-Fried’s urging, Mr. Sun said, he ran through a few theoretical options to justify the borrowing and spending of FTX customer money. But Mr. Sun, who testified after securing an agreement that prosecutors would not pursue charges against him, said he had once again told Mr. Bankman-Fried that none of those options were supported “by the facts.” Mr. Bankman-Fried responded by saying “something like, ‘Got it,’” Mr. Sun testified. Prosecutors then played a clip from an interview that Mr. Bankman-Fried gave ABC’s “Good Morning America” days before FTX filed for bankruptcy in November.

The witnesses have painted a portrait of Mr. Bankman-Fried, 31, as a controlling boss who directed them to commit fraud. She was apprehensive about the move, she said, because she knew that would mean borrowing $1 billion in FTX customer funds for the transaction. “That’s OK, I think this is really important, we have to get it done,” Mr. Bankman-Fried told Ms. Ellison, according to her testimony. At Mr. Bankman-Fried’s urging, Mr. Sun said, he ran through a few theoretical options to justify the borrowing and spending of FTX customer money. Prosecutors then played a clip from an interview that Mr. Bankman-Fried gave ABC’s “Good Morning America” days before FTX filed for bankruptcy in November.

watch nowLawyers for Sam Bankman-Fried late Wednesday revealed details of his planned testimony if he takes the witness stand at his FTX fraud trial. Earlier Wednesday, one of Bankman-Fried's two chief trial attorneys, Mark Cohen, said in a conference call that his client would testify as would three other people. Cohen cited specific examples where, at the guidance of FTX lawyers, Bankman-Fried adopted a policy which prosecutors argued shows his criminality. But Cohen wrote that Bankman-Fried's understanding was that these auto-deletion policies were "instituted under the guidances of lawyers." "We respectfully submit that Mr. Bankman-Fried's knowledge of industry practices regarding the use of omnibus wallets is relevant to his good faith belief that his conduct was permissible," the letter added.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Judge Lewis Kaplan, Kaplan, Mark Cohen, Cohen, Fried, Caroline Ellison, Bankman, SBF, Gary Wang, Adam Yedidia, Wang, FTX, Sun Organizations: Bahamian, Stanford, Alameda Research, Prosecutors, Bankman, Bahamas Securities Commission, Securities Commission, The Locations: Manhattan, FTX, Alameda, Bahamian, The Bahamas, United States

Over the past three weeks, former employees and friends of Sam Bankman-Fried have testified that he orchestrated a scheme to misappropriate billions of dollars in customer money from his FTX cryptocurrency exchange, which collapsed last year. The witnesses have painted a portrait of Mr. Bankman-Fried, 31, as a controlling boss who directed them to commit fraud. They said the FTX founder had known for months that the exchange had no way of paying back at least $8 billion in customer money that was used to buy lavish real estate, invest in other crypto companies, make campaign contributions and pay back lenders to a trading firm that Mr. Bankman-Fried also controlled. Here are highlights of the testimony from several prosecution witnesses — including Mr. Bankman-Fried’s employee and on-again, off-again girlfriend, Caroline Ellison — who have been central to the case:Adam YedidiaThe first prosecution witness was Adam Yedidia, a former FTX developer who was a close friend of Mr. Bankman-Fried’s and lived with him and other associates in the Bahamas. Mr. Yedidia, who has not been charged with any crimes and testified under immunity, said Mr. Bankman-Fried had known that FTX and Alameda Research, a sister crypto trading firm, were on thin ice.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, Bankman, Caroline Ellison —, Adam Yedidia, Mr, Yedidia Organizations: Alameda Research Locations: Bahamas

☆ 11 of the biggest bombshells from Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX fraud trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Katie Balevic | Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

The stress of the scheme left a key executive 'suicidal for days'Nishad Singh testified against his former boss in court. Jane Rosenberg/ReutersNishad Singh, the head engineer at FTX, testified against Bankman-Fried and spoke to the intense pressure of the scheme. As customers began to withdraw their deposits, FTX didn't have enough liquid cash to actually give them their funds. Instead of working together to solve the issue, executives blamed each other, Singh testified. "In response, Sam said something like, 'We were bulletproof last year, but we're not bulletproof this year,'" Yedidia testified.

Persons: Sam Bankman, —, Fried, Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, Nashad Singh, SBF, Ellison, he'd, Nishad Singh, Jane Rosenberg, Reuters Nishad Singh, Singh, I'd, Wang, FTX's, Bankman, Sam, Adam Yedidia, Yedidia, FTX didn't, FTX, Michael M, Ellison Yedidia, Caroline, Getty, Alameda's, — Ellison, Christian Drappi, Drappi, Alameda — Ellison Organizations: Service, Prosecutors, Alameda Research, Street, Reuters, Bankman, NEW, Manhattan Federal Court, Getty, FTX, MIT, Alameda Locations: Manhattan, Brooklyn, FTX, Bankman, Alameda, United States, Bahamas, New York City, China, Alameda's Hong Kong

☆ Read the secret Signal messages that could help put Sam Bankman-Fried behind bars
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +16 min

Sam Bankman-Fried appears at federal court in New York on Oct. 4, 2023, in this courtroom sketch. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Prosecutors are relying heavily on text messages sent among FTX and Alameda Research executives in the case against Sam Bankman-Fried. In a direct appeal to Bankman-Fried, Singh wrote on Nov. 6, 2022, "one thing that'd seriously help me is if I didn't have debts." Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Prosecutors are relying heavily on text messages sent among FTX and Alameda Research executives in the case against Sam Bankman-Fried. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Prosecutors are relying heavily on text messages sent among FTX and Alameda Research executives in the case against Sam Bankman-Fried.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, Claudia Johnson, Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, Nishad Singh, Ryan Salame, Damian Williams, Yuki Iwamura, Ellison, Bankman, Joe Bankman, Ramnik Arora, Ryne Miller, Constance Wang, Singh, Wang, reassurances, FTX, Changpeng Zhao, he'd, Um, Sam, Binance, Zhao, it's, Sam Trabucco, Ben Xie, Michael Lewis, Lewis, Adam Yedidia, Yedidia, chares, SDNY Singh, Gabe, Salame, Michael Sadowsky, Sadowsky, FTX's, Dawn Giel Organizations: Alameda Research, Stanford, Bloomberg, Getty, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, alameda, Prime Trust Bank Locations: New York, Alameda, Manhattan, U.S, FTX, Sequoia, Alameda's, Bahamas

☆ Will Sam Bankman-Fried take the witness stand? It would be dangerous — but he has little to lose.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Sam Bankman-Fried needs to decide soon whether he'll take the witness stand in his criminal trial. AdvertisementAdvertisementCaroline Ellison testified in the trial of her ex-boyfriend, Sam Bankman-Fried JANE ROSENBERGFor that reason, the case against Bankman-Fried rests on the credibility of his alleged co-conspirators. In their own questioning of the cooperating witnesses, prosecutors have encouraged them to be open about taking responsibility for their crimes. Court sketch of Sam Bankman-Fried on the first day of his trial JANE ROSENBERG/ReutersIf Bankman-Fried takes the stand, he'll be cross-examined by prosecutors. If Bankman-Fried takes the stand, prosecutors will almost certainly point to more material and catch him in any contradictions.

Persons: Sam Bankman, he'll, he's, —, They're, Fried, Mark Cohen, Lewis Kaplan, who's, Cohen, He's, Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, Nashad Singh, Sarah Krissoff, Cozen O'Connor, FTX, Mary Altaffer, Kaplan, Paul Tuchmann, Wiggin, Dana, Tuchmann, Adam Yedidia, Fried JANE ROSENBERG, Ellison, Wang, Singh, Bankman, Wang forthrightly, Ellison teared, slovenliness, Prosecutors —, Krissoff, JANE ROSENBERG, hedged, didn't, Judge Kaplan's, SBF Organizations: Service, Defense, US, Alameda Research, Former Alameda Research, AP, Prosecutors, Toyota Corolla, Reuters, ABC News, Alameda . Locations: Manhattan, Alameda, New York, FTX

☆ 'I'd been suicidal for days': Sam Bankman-Fried lieutenant testifies about immense pressure to keep FTX crypto scam going — before it all crashed
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

He testified at the Sam Bankman-Fried trial that he was 'suicidal' over the crypto scam. AdvertisementAdvertisement"I've always been intimidated by Sam," Singh testified Monday. Before the September 2022 realization that Alameda was taking FTX customer money, Singh had participated in fraudulent activity in other ways. When he returned, the FTX CEO told Singh that he believed he could get $5 billion more in investments, Singh testified. As the chaos continued to roil FTX, Bankman-Fried, Ellison, and other executives pointed fingers at each other while employees and customers demanded answers, Singh said.

Persons: Nishad Singh, Sam Bankman, —, Singh, Gary Wang, Caroline Ellison, Wang, Fried, unsurprised, Ellison —, Ellison, FTX wouldn't, he'd, Gabe Bankman, Adam Yedidia, Singh —, Ryan Salame —, Singh's, Sam, FTX, Mary Altaffer, Anthony Scaramucci, Seth Wenig, Salame —, funneling, Coindesk, FTX —, Binance, Jane Rosenberg Bankman, Bankman, I'd, roil Organizations: Service, Alameda Research, Bankman, Alameda, AP, Democratic, Prosecutors, REUTERS Locations: Alameda, FTX, Bahamas, Manhattan, New York, Bankman

☆ Caroline Ellison is about to spill the beans on her ex-boyfriend Sam Bankman-Fried
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Grace Kay | Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Caroline Ellison is set to testify later today in the criminal case against Sam Bankman-Fried. The former Alameda Research CEO is expected to be a key witness in the case against Bankman-Fried. AdvertisementAdvertisementAll eyes will be on star witness Caroline Ellison when she takes the stand later today in the trial against her ex-boyfriend and former boss Sam Bankman-Fried. They say Bankman-Fried siphoned money from customer accounts to fund crypto bets with Alameda Research, a hedge fund he controlled. Since the exchange collapsed, the former FTX CEO has attempted to put the blame for the platform's collapse on other executives, including Ellison.

Persons: Caroline Ellison, Sam Bankman, Ellison, —, FTX, Eric Chaffee, Prosecutors, Fried, Mark Cohen, Ellison —, Cohen, BRYAN R, SMITH, Jane Street, Gary Wang —, Wang, Adam Yedidia, Chelsea Jia Feng, Yedidia, Caroline, Lewis Kaplan, who's, Michael Lewis Organizations: Alameda Research, Service, Case Western Reserve University, Manhattan Federal, Bankman, Alameda, Research, New York Times, US Department of Justice, US Locations: Bankman, FTX, Alameda, Bahamas, Manhattan

☆ Inside Sam Bankman-Fried's $35 million crypto frat house in the Bahamas
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Lawyers for the U.S. Attorney's office entered into evidence a series of photos featuring the $35 million penthouse where Sam Bankman-Fried and his fellow co-workers resided. Lawyers for the U.S. Attorney's office entered into evidence a series of photos featuring the $35 million penthouse where Sam Bankman-Fried and his fellow co-workers resided. Lawyers for the U.S. Attorney's office entered into evidence photos featuring Sam Bankman-Fried and his fellow co-workers at their shared $35 million Bahamian penthouse. In his testimony, Yedidia recalled a group Signal thread labeled "People of the House," which referred to Bankman-Fried's $35 million penthouse. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Exhibit from the prosecution shows Signal thread called "People of the House," referring to Bankman-Fried's $35 million penthouse, where many employees lived.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, Gary Wang, Adam Yedidia, Caroline Ellison, She's, somethings, Lewis Kaplan, Yedidia, it's, Ryan Salame, Joseph Bankman, Barbara Fried, Bankman, John Ray, Ray, Tiger Woods, Justin Timberlake, Michael Lewis, Lewis, napping, Mark Cohen, FTX, Ellison, hadn't Organizations: U.S, Southern, of, Lawyers, Alameda Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT, SDNY, Bankman, Alameda, New Providence, FTX, Enron, Capitol, Prosecutors Locations: Bahamas, Manhattan, He's, of New York, Bankman, FTX, Alameda, Hong Kong, Caribbean, New Providence, New, U.S, Albany, oceanside

☆ Sex, Signal messages and sabotage: SBF's top execs and Bahamas roommates tell all in court
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +13 min

"Sam Bankman-Fried," he said. Wang said that in response to the reporting an emergency meeting was called between Bankman-Fried, Wang and Singh, to discuss shutting down Alameda. On Nov. 12, after FTX declared bankruptcy, Bankman-Fried asked Wang to drive with him to the Bahamas Securities Commission for a meeting. Yedidia said Bankman-Fried had told him, before he began working in the Bahamas in 2019, that he and Ellison had sex. Bankman-Fried asked Yedidia if it was a good idea for them to date, to which Yedidia said no.

Persons: Adam Yedidia, Sam Bankman, Jane Rosenberg, —, Gary Wang, Nicolas Roos, Wang, FTX, Nishad Singh, Caroline Ellison, Mr, Roos, Ellison, Fried, Reuters Wang, District Judge Lewis Kaplan, Singh, Yedidia, Bankman, Sam, Christian Everdell, he's, I'm, Matt Huang, Yuki Iwamura, Huang, Dawn Giel Organizations: Federal Court, Reuters, MIT, U.S, Alameda Research, District, Prosecutors, Bahamas Securities Commission, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Google, Alameda, United, Paradigm, FTX, Bloomberg, Getty Locations: FTX, New York City, Bahamas, Manhattan, U.S, Alameda, Bahamian, New York, China, Minnesota, FTX's Hong Kong, Nassau, Bankman

Wang, 30, is one of three FTX insiders who have pleaded guilty to fraud charges and entered a cooperation agreement with the government. Wang testified on Thursday that while at FTX, he created software code at the direction of Bankman-Fried that gave "special privileges" to Alameda, allowing it to withdraw unlimited funds. While Wang is the first cooperator to take the stand, jurors have so far heard from three other witnesses. He said Bankman-Fried appeared worried and told him the companies were "not bulletproof" as they had been the year before. Zac Prince, the founder of crypto lender BlockFi, is among the witnesses expected to testify after Wang finishes when the trial resumes next Tuesday.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Eduardo Munoz, Gary Wang, Wang, Fried, FTX, Matt Huang, Adam Yedidia, Zac Prince, Jody Godoy, David Gregorio Our Organizations: REUTERS, Alameda Research, Prosecutors, Alameda, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, Alameda, FTX

Sam Bankman-Fried watches as Assistant U.S. Attorney Thane Rehn makes his opening remark in Bankman-Fried's fraud trial over the collapse of FTX, the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange, at Federal Court in New York City, U.S., October 4, 2023 in this courtroom sketch. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Sam Bankman-Fried's fraud trial kicked off this week, nearly a year after the FTX cryptocurrency exchange he founded declared bankruptcy in a collapse that shocked markets and left the 31-year-old wunderkind's reputation in tatters. Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to charges of stealing billions of dollars in customer funds to prop up his crypto-focused hedge fund, Alameda Research. "Sam and his colleagues were building the plane as they were flying it," Cohen said in his opening statement on Wednesday. "The conversation began with me bringing up the large debt owed by Alameda to FTX and asking something like, 'are things OK?'"

Persons: Sam Bankman, Attorney Thane Rehn, Jane Rosenberg, Fried, Rehn, Mark Cohen, Sam, Cohen, Adam Yedidia, Fried's, Yedidia, Matt Huang, Huang, Gary Huang, Wang, Luc Cohen, Matthew Lewis Organizations: U.S, Attorney, Federal Court, REUTERS, Alameda Research, Manhattan U.S, ALAMEDA, Paradigm, Thomson Locations: Bankman, FTX, New York City, U.S, Thane, Alameda, New York

☆ The same day SBF promised his hedge fund wasn't getting special treatment, FTX gave it an unlimited line of credit — which other customers didn't get
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The same day, the FTX rolled out a feature allowing Alameda to get an unlimited line of credit. Those other accounts signed a line of credit agreement, but Alameda was never required to sign such an agreement, Wang testified. He increased Alameda's line of credit incrementally to a few million, a few hundred million, a billion, and eventually tens of billions. At some point in late 2019 or early 2020, Wang checked Alameda's balance and noticed it was negative. Even doing so, Wang said Alameda's balance was still negative, meaning the money was coming from FTX customers.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, —, FTX, Gary Wang, SBF, Wang, Nishad Singh, Bankman, Caroline Ellison, Sam, FTX's, Adam Yedidia, Yedidia Organizations: Alameda Research, Service, Twitter, Alameda Locations: Alameda, FTX, Manhattan, Bankman, FTT

☆ Former FTX developer says he confronted an 'anxious' Sam Bankman-Fried on Bahamas paddleball court while trying to fix bug that led to $8 billion hole
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

"The numbers seemed large to me," Yedidia testified Thursday in a federal court in downtown Manhattan. In a hut between paddleball courts, Yedidia expressed his concern to Sam Bankman-Fried, the CEO of FTX, who also controlled Alameda Research. AdvertisementAdvertisementA Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and former CEO of crypto currency exchange FTX in a courtroom last year. AdvertisementAdvertisementFormer FTX developer Adam Yedidia leaves after testifying during the trial of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried at Manhattan Federal Court in New York City. In the Bahamas, top employees and their significant others in both companies shared a $35 million penthouse apartment that Alameda Research paid for.

Persons: Fried, Adam Yedidia, —, Yedidia, FTX, Sam Bankman, Yadidia, Bankman, Jane Rosenberg, Reuters Yedidia, Caroline Ellison, Michael M, Ellison, Gary Wang, Nishad Singh, Singh, Sam, Caroline, I'm Organizations: Alameda Research, Alameda, Service, MIT, rockstar, Reuters, Bankman, Manhattan Federal, FTX, United Arab Locations: Bahamas, Alameda, Manhattan, FTX, Alameda FTX, Bankman, New York City, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates

NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors went to the heart of their case against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried on Thursday as the company's co-founder began his testimony, telling a New York jury that he and Bankman-Fried committed financial crimes and lied to the public before the cryptocurrency trading platform collapsed last year. Bankman-Fried, 31, who has been jailed since August, was brought to the United States from the Bahamas last December after he was charged in Manhattan federal court. Defense lawyers say Bankman-Fried had no criminal intent as he took actions to try to save his businesses after the cryptocurrency market collapsed. The others are Carolyn Ellison, Alameda Research's former chief executive and a former girlfriend of Bankman-Fried, and Nishad Singh, the former engineering director at FTX. He said he lived with Bankman-Fried and other top executives in June or July of 2022 when he told Bankman-Fried one day that he was concerned that Alameda owed FTX a large debt.

Persons: — Prosecutors, Sam Bankman, Fried, Gary Wang, Fried's, Wang, FTX “, ” Wang, Lewis A, Kaplan, Carolyn Ellison, Nishad Singh, Adam Yedidia, Bankman, “ Sam, ” Organizations: —, New, Alameda Research, FTX, Bankman Locations: New York, Alameda, United States, Bahamas, Manhattan, Bankman, Fried, China, Minnesota, FTX

☆ FTX co-founder admits he and Sam Bankman-Fried committed fraud
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —A key witness for prosecutors in the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried testified that both he and Bankman-Fried committed multiple financial crimes related to their oversight of now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX. Gary Wang, who co-founded FTX with Bankman-Fried, told jurors — in compliance with an earlier plea deal — that he was guilty of wire fraud, securities fraud and commodities fraud, and that he committed those crimes under the direction of Bankman-Fried. Alameda’s ‘unlimited’ slush fundUnlike regular customers of FTX — a platform for individual investors and institutions to trade crypto — Alameda was allowed to run a negative balance and make “unlimited withdrawals” from FTX customers, Wang said. In response, “Sam said something like, ‘We were bulletproof last year; we’re not bulletproof this year,’” Yedidia told the jury. The $8 billion represented the money that FTX customers would be owed if they decided to withdraw their deposits, Yedidia said.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, Gary Wang, Wang, FTX, haven’t, Mark Cohen, Nicolas Roos, ” Wang, empaneled, ‘, Adam Yedidia, Yedidia, SBF, “ Sam, ’ ” Yedidia, “, Sam, ” Yedidia, MIT undergrads, ” Organizations: New, New York CNN, Alameda Research, Prosecutors, MIT Locations: New York, Alameda, FTX

NEW YORK, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Sam Bankman-Fried's college roommate and ex-colleague, Gary Wang, testified on Thursday at the FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder's fraud trial that Bankman-Fried told him to give a hedge fund they co-owned special trading privileges on FTX. The special privileges granted to the hedge fund, Alameda Research, included a $65 billion line of credit, several orders of magnitude bigger than the amount other users were able to borrow, he said. He added that Bankman-Fried had directed him to implement the changes giving Alameda special privileges. Wang, 30, is the first of three former close associates of Bankman-Fried to testify at the trial, which began on Tuesday. Wang said Bankman-Fried decided to name the firm Alameda Research because it "makes it easier to do business if the name doesn't mention trading or cryptocurrency."

Persons: Sam Bankman, Gary Wang, Fried, Wang, FTX, FTX's, Mark Cohen, Matt Huang, Huang, Bankman, Nishad Singh, Caroline Ellison, Alameda's, Adam Yedidia, Yedidia, Sam, Joseph Bankman, Barbara Fried, Luc Cohen, Jody Godoy, Amy Stevens, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Alameda Research, Alameda, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Prosecutors, MIT, Stanford Law, Thomson Locations: Alameda, tatters, Manhattan, FTX, China, United States, Bahamas, Yedidia, New York

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried's old penthouse roommate insisted on immunity before testifying because he feared he unwittingly facilitated a crime
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Yedidia insisted on immunity to testify because he was worried he may have facilitated a crime. AdvertisementAdvertisementBefore Adam Yedidia could testify against Sam Bankman-Fried at the FTX cofounder's criminal trial, he needed reassurances. AdvertisementAdvertisementThis courtroom sketch shows Adam Yedidia, former FTX and Alameda Research employee and former friend of Sam Bankman-Fried, testifying, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023. In 2017, he worked at Alameda Research for two months as a trader before leaving to pursue a PhD. Yedidia said he lived in a $35 million penthouse apartment in the Bahamas, which he said Alameda Research purchased at Bankman-Fried's direction.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Adam Yedidia, Yedidia, —, Fried, Elizabeth Williams, Lewis Kaplan, who's, Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, Prosecutors, Wang, Yedida Organizations: Service, Prosecutors, Alameda Research, AP, MIT Locations: Alameda, Manhattan, FTX, Bankman, Bahamas

Sam Bankman-Fried Trial appears at Federal Court in New York on Oct. 4th, 2023. Two years later, Julliard stood as the prosecution's first witness in the criminal fraud trial against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who's accused of misusing billions of dollars in client money. He and thousands of other FTX customers were practically wiped out when the exchange went belly up late last year. Allan Joseph Bankman, father of FTX Co-Founder Sam Bankman-Fried, and Barbara Fried, mother of FTX Co-Founder Sam Bankman-Fried, arrive at court in New York, US, on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023. WATCH: Sam Bankman-Fried criminal trial begins in New York

Persons: Sam Bankman, Claudia Johnson Marc, Antoine Julliard, Julliard, who's, FTX, Gisele Bündchen, Fried, Jane Rosenberg, Sam, Mark Cohen, Cohen, Attorney Thane, Rehn, Alameda's, Caroline Ellison, Allan Joseph Bankman, Barbara Fried, Stephanie Keith, Ellison's, Sam Trabucco, Trabucco, Rein, Adam Yedidia, Bankman, Yedida, hadn't, Gary Wang Organizations: Court, FTX, Federal Court, Reuters Defense, Alameda Research, Bankman, Assistant U.S, Attorney, Capitol, U.S, Bloomberg, Getty, MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Prosecutors Locations: New York, London, Manhattan, FTX, New York City, U.S, Alameda, Attorney Thane Rehn, Rehn

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