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☆ Sam Bankman-Fried said he was alarmed by Alameda's risk taking, but he doesn't show it when he's 'freaked out'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Sam Bankman-Fried testified before the jury on Friday, detailing his version of events. He added that he doesn't show it when he's "freaking out," contrary to testimony by former execs. "I was very surprised and fairly concerned," Bankman-Fried testified. Developers ran the numbers and confirmed them, bringing about a "relieved" demeanor in Ellison, Singh, and Wang, Bankman-Fried testified. Singh testified that Bankman-Fried had tells, including "physical twitches for when he gets angry."

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, —, Bankman, Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, Nishad Singh, Wang, Singh, Ellison, Ellison didn't, Mark Cohen Organizations: Service, Prosecutors, Alameda Research, FTX, Developers, shuttering Locations: Alameda, Manhattan, FTX, shuttering Alameda, Bahamas, Washington ,

New York CNN —Former crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried took the stand in front of a judge and jury last week in his criminal fraud trial. “I was kind of busy and lazy and didn’t bother getting a haircut for long periods of time,” Bankman-Fried said. Bankman-Fried is being accused of using this “back door” to transfer billions of dollars in FTX customer funds to Alameda. He initially thought FTX would failWhen Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang started FTX in 2019, there were already dozens of crypto exchanges. I’m not sure that I would quite answer yes to the question as you most recently phrased it.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, “, ”, we’ve, Caroline Ellison, Bankman, Mark Cohen, ” Cohen, Cohen, didn’t, FTX, Gary Wang, Binance, ” SBF, Lewis Kaplan, Kaplan interjected, Danielle Sassoon, I’m Organizations: New, New York CNN, Prosecutors, Alameda Research, Miami Heat, American Airlines, FTX, New Orleans Saints, Kansas City Chiefs, Kansas City Royals, Kaseya Locations: New York, Bahamas, Alameda, Kansas City, Bankman, FTX

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried testifies he regrets not hiring a risk management team at FTX before it collapsed and led to criminal charges against him
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Katie Balevic | Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sam Bankman-Fried was asked on the witness stand if he hired a risk management team for FTX. He lamented the lack of a risk management team at FTX, a common refrain of his as he works to deflect blame from himself in the company's catastrophic collapse. "Did you have a risk management team at FTX?" But no, we didn't," Bankman-Fried replied. Bankman-Fried testified he worked between 12 and 22 hours per day and took off one day per month to keep up with managing the growth.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, —, Jane Street, Mark Cohen, FTX, Lewis Kaplan, who's, Kaplan Organizations: FTX, Prosecutors, Service, Alameda Research, US Locations: Alameda

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.

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 testifies he 'didn't have the time' for haircuts or long-term relationship with Caroline Ellison
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sam Bankman-Fried addressed his breakup with Caroline Ellison on the witness stand Friday. AdvertisementAdvertisementOn the witness stand in his criminal trial Friday, Sam Bankman-Fried testified he was too busy running companies worth billions of dollars to get deeply involved in women and haircuts. One of their witnesses in the trial is Caroline Ellison, who ran Alameda as a CEO starting in mid-2021. That explanation is consistent with what Ellison herself said on the witness stand in earlier testimony. "I was kind of busy and lazy and didn't get haircuts for long periods of time," Bankman-Fried answered, sheepishly.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, Caroline Ellison, —, Jane, Ellison, Mark Cohen, sheepishly, Cohen Organizations: Service, Alameda Research Locations: Manhattan, Alameda, Bankman

"We thought that we might be able to build the best product on the market," Bankman-Fried said during his six hours of testimony in Manhattan federal court. Bankman-Fried on Friday testified that while Ellison provided him a spreadsheet she was considering sending to a lender, he did not look at it in detail. On Friday, Bankman-Fried sought to place much of the blame for Alameda's failure on Ellison. Bankman-Fried was questioned by both sides on Thursday without jurors present as the judge assessed what parts of his testimony would be admissible. Prosecutors will get their first chance to question Bankman-Fried with jurors present when they cross-examine him next week.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, Caroline Ellison, Mark Cohen's, Ellison, Gary Wang, Wang, Nishad Singh, FTX, Cohen, Jody Godoy, Luc Cohen, Will Dunham, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Alameda Research, Prosecutors, Alameda, FTX, Thomson Locations: Alameda, Manhattan, New York

NEW YORK (AP) — Richard Moll, a character actor who found lasting fame as an eccentric but gentle giant bailiff on the original “Night Court” sitcom, has died. Moll played "Bull” Shannon on NBC's “Night Court” from 1984-1992 alongside stars Harry Anderson and John Larroquette. The towering actor — he was 6-feet 8-inches tall — did not join the reboot of “Night Court” starring Larroquette. Raised in Pasadena, California, Moll was a history and psychology major at the University of California at Berkeley, and graduated in 1964. Moll is survived by his children, Chloe and Mason Moll; ex-wife, Susan Moll; and stepchildren Cassandra Card and Morgan Ostling.

Persons: — Richard Moll, Moll, Jeff Sanderson, Bull ” Shannon, NBC's, Harry Anderson, John Larroquette, Roz Russell, Marsha Warfield, Bull, “ Ohh, kay, ”, Harvey Dent, “, Scorpion, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Natasha Lyonne, “ Thomas, Peter O’Toole, Marcia Gay Harden, Ed Asner, —, Larroquette, Chloe, Mason Moll, Susan Moll, Cassandra Card, Morgan Ostling Organizations: University of California, People Locations: Big Bear, , California, Pasadena , California, Berkeley, Alameda County, San Francisco, Hollywood

☆ Why Sam Bankman-Fried wanted to spend $10 million a year to put FTX name on sports stadium
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

Prosecutors entered corroborating materials, including encrypted Signal messages and other internal documents that appear to show Bankman-Fried orchestrating the spending of FTX customer money. Similarly, Bankman-Fried testified that he believed the lavish Bahamas properties were being paid for with FTX operating cash that came from revenue and venture investments. As for the venture investments, Bankman-Fried said he thought that money was coming from Alameda's operating profits and third-party lending desks. Alameda's venture arm was renamed Clifton Bay Investments, which Bankman-Fried said was a first step in building a dedicated venture brand. When asked about loans he took from the business, Bankman-Fried said they were to pay for venture investments and political donations.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Amanda Perobelli, Fried, District Judge Lewis Kaplan, Mark Cohen, Bankman, Cohen, Sam Bankman Fried, Judge Lewis Kaplan, Elizabeth Williams, Caroline Ellison, Judge Kaplan, Jane, Banks, weren't, cryptocurrencies, FTX, Nishad Singh, Gary Wang, Singh, Wang, Prosecutors, Dan Friedberg, Fenwick, Marco Bello, Ryan Salame, Salame, Katy Perry, —, Dawn Giel Organizations: FTX, Reuters FTX, U.S, District, Stanford, Alameda Research, Elizabeth Williams Prosecutors, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Alameda, Fenwick & West, Reuters, NFL's New, NFL's New Orleans Saints, Kansas City Chiefs, Facebook, Google, Clifton Bay Investments, Republicans Locations: Manhattan, New York City, U.S, Alameda, Bahamas, Berkeley , California, FTX, Friedberg, Miami , Florida, Miami, NFL's New Orleans, Clifton Bay, Los Angeles

NEW YORK (AP) — FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried testified at his New York trial on Friday, denying that he defrauded anyone but acknowledging that the innovative business he had hoped would move the cryptocurrency ecosystem forward ended up hurting customers instead. “It turned out basically the opposite of that,” and a lot of customers and others got hurt, Bankman-Fried said. After the jury was sent home Thursday, Bankman-Fried testified in front of the judge about his communications with lawyers as he built his cryptocurrency empire. The executives testified that Bankman-Fried directed them to spend billions of dollars taken from the accounts of FTX customers and funneled through Alameda Research, a hedge fund he started in 2017, two years before he created the FTX cryptocurrency exchange. ___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, ” Kaplan Organizations: Prosecutors, Alameda Research Locations: York, Manhattan, California, Bahamas, Bankman, New York, Palo Alto , California, Alameda

Defense lawyers estimated that they would question him for about five hours after brief testimony from two other witnesses. After prosecutors rested Thursday, defense lawyers immediately asked Judge Lewis A. Kaplan to acquit Bankman-Fried on the grounds that prosecutors had failed to present sufficient evidence. Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas and extradited to the United States last December, a month after his businesses collapsed. Kaplan revoked the bail in August after concluding that Bankman-Fried had tried to influence potential trial witnesses. Since then, his lawyers have complained that Bankman-Fried has been unable to properly prepare for trial while incarcerated at a Brooklyn federal lockup.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, Judge Lewis A, Kaplan, acquit, Caroline Ellison, Bankman Organizations: — Prosecutors, Alameda Research, Palo, Stanford University, Bankman, Alameda Locations: Manhattan, California, Alameda, Bahamas, United States, Palo Alto , California, Brooklyn

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried's defense team fails to land a blow as he takes the stand
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Sam Bankman-Fried took the stand in a New York courtroom on Thursday, as he and his defense team auditioned their best legal material for U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan. Bankman-Fried, the son of two Stanford legal scholars, has pleaded not guilty in the case. Several of these witnesses have themselves pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including Bankman-Fried's ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison, who faces a maximum sentence of 110 years for crimes committed while she was the CEO of Alameda. Given that the core issue will be intent to defraud, SBF should be portraying himself as clueless, inattentive, and in over his head. But for years he had portrayed himself as a visionary genius, and I don't expect that to change on the stand," he said.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, District Judge Lewis Kaplan, Fried's, Mark Cohen, Dan Friedberg, SBF, Renato Mariotti, Bryan Cave Leighton, Caroline Ellison Organizations: U.S, District, Stanford, U.S . Justice Department's Securities, Commodities, Alameda Research, Prosecutors Locations: New York, Manhattan, Chicago, Alameda

☆ Judge blasts Sam Bankman-Fried for 'interesting' answers on the witness stand to questions about using FTX customer funds
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Katie Balevic | Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

AdvertisementAdvertisement"Part of the problem is that the witness has what I'll simply call an interesting way of responding to questions," Kaplan said during the hearing. AdvertisementAdvertisementWhen Sassoon asked Bankman-Fried directly if he discussed spending FTX customer deposits with his lawyers, he took a long pause and looked down before he answered the question. Sassoon, questioning Bankman-Fried on the witness stand, asked Bankman-Fried to be more explicit about why he thought that explanation was acceptable. Asked directly by Sassoon if it was OK to steal customer funds, Bankman-Fried rejected that interpretation of events. Sassoon made that clear on Thursday as Kaplan asked for a broad timeline of the rest of the trial.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, —, Lewis Kaplan, Kaplan, Mark Cohen, Danielle Sassoon, Sassoon, Bankman, Chelsea Jia Feng, I'm, Cohen, grumbled, Barbara Fried, " Cohen Organizations: Service, Alameda Research Locations: Manhattan, FTX, Alameda

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

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

Former FTX Chief Executive Sam Bankman-Fried, who faces fraud charges over the collapse of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange, leaves federal court in New York City, U.S., February 9, 2023. Prosecutors allege Bankman-Fried misled FTX customers about the safety of their assets before the exchange filed for bankruptcy in November 2022. Alameda had borrowed several billion dollars of FTX customer assets to repay its lenders the month before, she said. "We have a long history of safeguarding client assets and that remains true today," he said in the thread. Ellison testified at trial that by the summer of 2022, Alameda was drawing from FTX customer funds to make venture investments.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Mike Segar, Fried, Gary Wang, FTX's, FTX, Wang, Caroline Ellison, Alameda's, Ellison, Jody Godoy, Luc Cohen, Noeleen Walder, Daniel Wallis Organizations: FTX, REUTERS, Prosecutors, Alameda, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Alameda, New York

Sam Bankman-Fried took the witness stand on Thursday after days of testimony from his inner circle. The FTX cofounder is facing seven charges of fraud over the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange. AdvertisementAdvertisementSam Bankman-Fried took the witness stand Thursday to testify in his own defense in the criminal trial involving FTX's collapse. After briefly describing the "constant" threat of attempts to hack FTX, Bankman-Fried got into the company's document retention policy, which he said he abided by "to my knowledge." The FTX cofounder is facing seven criminal charges and has pleaded not guilty on all counts.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, —, Judge Lewis Kaplan, Kaplan, Mark Cohen, Gary Wang, Caroline Ellison, Wang, FTX, Ellison, she'd Organizations: Service, FTX, Alameda Research, Alameda Locations: Alameda

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried could take stand at fraud trial over FTX collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, arrives at court as lawyers push to persuade the judge overseeing his fraud case not to jail him ahead of trial, at a courthouse in New York, U.S., August 11, 2023. Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty and maintained that while he made mistakes running FTX, he never intended to steal funds. They say Alameda looted FTX funds through special trading privileges on the exchange. Cohen said the defense plans to call three brief witnesses before Bankman-Fried takes the stand. Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Eduardo Munoz, Fried, Mark Cohen, Bankman, Mark Troiano, Cohen, FTX, Luc Cohen, Noeleen Walder, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: REUTERS, Alameda Research, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, Alameda, Manhattan

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried to testify in FTX fraud trial, attorney says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried will take the stand to testify in his own defense, his attorney said in a conference call Wednesday. The decision by his legal team sets him up for a cross-examination by federal prosecutors, who will be able to press him on the collapse of his crypto exchange FTX. Bankman-Fried's decision to testify came after federal prosecutors and his defense team were able to secure the alleged fraudster an adequate supply of his ADHD medication. The defense will also call three other witnesses besides Bankman-Fried to the stand, defense attorney Mark Cohen said on the call. Bankman-Fried stands accused of fraud and money laundering of his role in the collapse of the multi-billion dollar crypto exchange FTX.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Mark Cohen, Nishad Singh, Caroline Ellison, Fried, Dawn Giel Organizations: Prosecutors, Federal Bureau of, Alameda Research

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

Indicted FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried leaves the United States Courthouse in New York City, U.S., July 26, 2023. Elizabeth Holmes took the stand at her criminal trial, testifying over several days that she did not intend to defraud investors in her blood-testing startup, Theranos. For Bankman-Fried to be convicted of fraud, prosecutors must show beyond a reasonable doubt that he intended to defraud FTX customers or investors. Taking the stand carries the risk that he will be confronted with those media appearances as well as his use of social media. But Bankman-Fried has a lower-than-average fear of risk, according to trial testimony.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, Amr Alfiky, Willkie Farr, Gallagher, Ilene Jaroslaw, Elizabeth Holmes, Holmes, Caroline Ellison, Ellison, Mike Schachter, Schachter, Tom Barrack, Donald Trump, Jean Boustani, District Judge Lewis Kaplan, Bankman, Jody Godoy, Tom Hals, Noeleen Walder, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: United, REUTERS, Prosecutors, Alameda Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Detention, U.S, District, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Alameda, Lebanese, Brooklyn's, New York

☆ 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

Sam Bankman-Fried will take the stand in his criminal trial, his lawyer said. AdvertisementAdvertisementSam Bankman-Fried plans to take the witness stand to testify in his own defense in the criminal fraud trial over FTX's collapse, according to his attorney Mark Cohen. In a hearing in federal court in downtown Manhattan Wednesday, Cohen said he would call three witnesses in Bankman-Fried's defense case, and then Bankman-Fried himself would testify. Prosecutors said they would bring two more witnesses before resting, turning things over to Bankman-Fried's lawyers to make their defense case. Earlier in the trial, Bankman-Fried's attorneys appeared to go back and forth on whether the FTX cofounder would take the stand.

Persons: Sam Bankman, —, Fried, Mark Cohen, Cohen, Prosecutors, Bankman, Caroline Ellison, Ellison, Eric Chaffee, Lewis Kaplan, Kaplan, Richard Painter, George W, Bush, Painter Organizations: Service, Prosecutors, Case Western Reserve University, University of Minnesota, White House Locations: Manhattan, Bankman, FTX

☆ Crypto lender BlockFi begins post-bankruptcy wind-down
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FILE PHOTO; Figurines with smartphones and computers are seen in front of the BlockFi logo in this illustration, November 28, 2022. BlockFi estimated in court filings that customers who had interest-bearing Earn accounts will receive between 39.4% and 100% of the value in their accounts. In its bankruptcy filing in November 2022, BlockFi had cited its loans to FTX's sister firm Alameda as one of the reasons for its collapse. Those with BlockFi Interest Accounts and Retail Loans will be repaid over the coming months, but the amounts they receive could vary based on the outcome of the FTX bankruptcy, BlockFi said. Crypto lenders, the de facto banks of the crypto world, boomed during the pandemic, attracting retail customers with double-digit rates in return for their crypto deposits.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, BlockFi, Sam Bankman, Fried, Crypto, Niket, Dietrich Knauth, Shailesh Kuber, Anil D'Silva, Will Dunham Organizations: REUTERS, Arrows Capital, Thomson Locations: Jersey City , New Jersey, Alameda, Manhattan, Bengaluru, New York

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried's lawyers avoid challenges to 'cartoon' villain image
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Defense lawyers will have a chance to put forward a competing narrative when they present their case, beginning as soon as Thursday. A STRATEGIC CHOICEAllowing specific unfavorable accounts by prosecution witnesses to go unchallenged on cross-examination could be a strategic choice by the defense, according to experts. During opening statements, Cohen told jurors of the prosecutors: "They'd have you think he was quite the villain, or, more precisely, almost a cartoon of a villain. "It was pretty humiliating," said Singh, who has pleaded guilty to fraud charges. Ellison, who has also pleaded guilty to fraud, said Bankman-Fried told her that his signature sloppy dress and wild mop of curly locks was an "important part of FTX's image."

Persons: Sam Bankman, Andrew Kelly, Fried, Bankman, doesn't, Jordan Estes, Kramer Levin, Mark Cohen, Cohen, Rachel Maimin, Lowenstein Sandler, Sam, gooder, Nishad Singh, Singh, Caroline Ellison, Alameda's, Ellison, Luc Cohen, Will Dunham, Amy Stevens Organizations: FTX, Manhattan, REUTERS, Alameda Research, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Manhattan, Washington, Alameda, New York

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