Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas Roos, commenced the closing arguments in the case against Sam Bankman-Fried this morning, accusing the FTX founder of constructing a cryptocurrency exchange built on deception and false promises. According to Roos, Bankman-Fried constructed a “pyramid of deceit” that eventually crumbled, leaving behind a trail of destruction.
Bankman-Fried’s Rehearsed Testimony Falls Apart
Roos highlighted the stark contrast in Bankman-Fried’s behavior during the direct examination and cross-examination. While the “king of crypto” appeared confident and well-prepared during the initial questioning, he stumbled and claimed to have “no recollection” more than 140 times when faced with the prosecution’s rigorous cross-examination. Roos described Bankman-Fried’s testimony as “uncomfortable to hear” and suggested that he purposely avoided answering questions straightforwardly. The prosecution presented six instances where Bankman-Fried had an opportunity to come clean, but instead chose to deepen the deception. If customers had known the truth about FTX’s financial state, they would have quickly withdrawn their funds.
The Trial Reveals Deception and Greed
Roos emphasized that the focus of the trial was not on complex cryptocurrency concepts, but rather on the acts of deception, lies, stealing, and greed committed by Bankman-Fried. The prosecutor pointed out that even if the money taken was returned, wrongfully taking someone’s money is still considered fraud. Roos didn’t shy away from pointing out that anyone could see that Alameda Research was borrowing more funds than it could handle. The evidence clearly showed that Bankman-Fried believed he could talk his way out of the situation, but Roos made it clear that the trial marked the end of that possibility.
The prosecution also highlighted Bankman-Fried’s own incriminating words, particularly tweets made during FTX’s downfall where he claimed everything was fine. These tweets demonstrated Bankman-Fried’s criminal intent as he knowingly misled customers, despite being aware of the company’s precarious financial situation. Furthermore, Bankman-Fried’s response to Nishad Singh regarding the orchestration of the fraud confirmed his involvement and admission of guilt. Roos asserted that Bankman-Fried was the mastermind behind the operation and had set up systems to siphon funds for his own gain.
