NEW YORK (AP) — FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried plans to testify at his fraud trial, his lawyer told a federal judge on Wednesday, a day before the defense is set to counter testimony from former executives who say the cryptocurrency executive stole billions of dollars from his customers and investors over several years.
Attorney Mark Cohen told Judge Lewis A. Kaplan that he planned to call three witnesses “and then our client is also going to be testifying” after prosecutors rest early Thursday.
Even so, prosecutors and the judge later discussed the possibility that closing arguments could occur early next week if Bankman-Fried changes his mind and doesn't take the stand.
That means only Bankman-Fried or other character witnesses can tell his side of the story, former prosecutors said.
___For more AP coverage of Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX: https://apnews.com/hub/sam-bankman-fried
Persons:
— FTX, Sam Bankman, Fried, Mark Cohen, Judge Lewis A, Kaplan, “, ”, Cohen, Rachel Maimin, Lowenstein Sandler, Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, Joshua Naftalis, “ It’s, Mary
Organizations:
Alameda Research, Pallas Partners
Locations:
Manhattan, Palo Alto , California, Bahamas