A lawyer representing Sam Bankman-Fried has criticized the way Judge Lewis Kaplan in New York District Court handled the case, arguing that the former CEO should not be prevented from presenting some key evidence.
“He was presumed guilty before he was formally charged. The media, FTX’s estate, his lawyers, and even the federal prosecutors all rushed to find him guilty in search of sensational headlines. Even the judge presiding over the trial was biased,” Bankman-Fried’s lawyers wrote in a 102-page appeal.
An appeal has been filed with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
Bankman-Fried was convicted by a New York jury in November on seven counts of defrauding FTX customers, investors, and lenders. Prosecutors said he ran “the biggest fraud in a decade,” comparing it to Bernie Madoff’s infamous Ponzi scheme. Bankman-Fried was later sentenced to 25 years in prison.
However, attorney Alexandra Shapiro argued that the jury was “only given half the picture” because the court decided that it did not matter whether Bankman-Fried intended to misappropriate client funds. Shapiro also pointed out that her client was prevented from testifying that he relied on the advice of his lawyers in many business decisions.
FTX has never been insolvent
Shapiro also said the court prevented Bankman-Fried from introducing evidence that FTX and the Alameda hedge fund were still solvent, even though prosecutors had implied both companies were insolvent during the trial.
“In making these arguments, the prosecution echoed the claims of FTX’s asset managers, who had an interest in placing all the blame on Bankman-Fried rather than on their own mismanagement of the assets,” Shapiro said.
Prosecutors also accused Bankman-Fried of spending billions of dollars on luxury real estate and political donations, claiming the money had “disappeared.”
“That’s a false narrative. Everyone now knows that FTX customers and Alameda creditors will be paid out of the bankruptcy trust’s assets,” Shapiro asserted.
“Bankman-Fried did not lose or steal all of his money, and his investments were not risky or ill-considered. Many of his investments, such as the $500 million investment in the world’s leading AI company Anthropic (now believed to be worth billions) and the investment in Solana, were sound decisions,” Shapiro added. “However, these investments are illiquid, meaning they cannot be immediately converted into cash to meet the wave of customer withdrawals in November 2022. FTX’s problem is a liquidity crisis, not an insolvency.”
Shapiro stressed that his client should have been allowed to confront prosecutors.
“All of this could have been proven at trial if the judge had allowed the defense to present evidence,” the appeal says. “This error was fatal: the prosecution was allowed to present a false story, and the defense was not allowed to counter it.”
To date, FTX's bankruptcy fund has recovered $16.3 billion worth of assets.
New case, new judge
Shapiro also alleged that Judge Kaplan showed a clear bias against Bankman-Fried throughout the trial, claiming that he was “biased to help the government.”
Shapiro also pointed out that Judge Kaplan “encouraged the jury” to reach a verdict quickly by providing free dinner and shuttle service, so they could finish in one night.
“Judge Kaplan repeatedly expressed his unwavering belief in Bankman-Fried’s guilt,” Shapiro said.
Source: https://tapchibitcoin.io/sam-bankman-fried-nop-don-khang-cao-va-yeu-cau-xet-xu-lai.html
