Former FTX CEO SBF appeals, criticizing judicial injustice and calling for a retrial
According to The Block, Sam Bankman Fried (SBF), former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has appealed and requested a retrial. His lawyer criticized New York District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan's handling of the case and stated that SBF should not be prohibited from presenting certain evidence.
He was presumed guilty even before being charged. The media presumed him guilty, and he was presumed guilty by the FTX debtor consortium and its lawyers, "SBF's lawyer said in the 102 page appeal." Federal prosecutors were eager to seek headline news and presumed him guilty, and the presiding judge also presumed him guilty
SBF was found guilty of all seven criminal charges of defrauding FTX customers, lenders, and investors by a jury in New York in November. The prosecutor stated that SBF planned "possibly the largest fraud case in the past decade" and compared it to Bernie Madoff, the mastermind behind the Ponzi scheme. Subsequently, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Reason for appeal
SBF's lawyer Alexandra Shapiro argued in the appeal that the jury was "only allowed to see half of the story" because the court ruled that whether SBF intended to steal clients' funds was not a key factor. Shapiro added that the former CEO could have testified that he relied on legal advice on certain business matters, but the court prevented him from doing so.
Shapiro stated that the court prevented SBF from presenting evidence of the solvency of FTX and hedge fund Alameda. During the interrogation, the prosecutor hinted that both companies were unable to repay their debts. Shapiro said:
When presenting these arguments, the government copied the statements of FTX debtors, intentionally making the outside world believe that any losses suffered by customers should be attributed to Bankman Fried, rather than their poor management of the consortium's assets
Prosecutors also accused SBF of spending billions of dollars on luxury apartments and political donations, claiming that the money was gone. Shapiro stated that this statement is incorrect, "as everyone now knows, FTX customers and Alameda creditors will receive repayment from the bankruptcy estate. According to reports, the FTX consortium has recovered up to $16.3 billion in assets.
Bankman Fried did not lose or steal all the money, and his investments were not dangerous or foolish. Many of these investments, such as his $500 million investment in Anthropic and his investment in Solana, were visionary, "Shapiro added." However, these investments lack liquidity, which means they cannot be immediately converted into cash to cope with the run caused by customer withdrawals in November 2022. FTX is facing a liquidity crisis, not a solvency crisis
Shapiro stated that SBF should ultimately be allowed to refute the prosecution's arguments. According to the appeal, "if the judge allowed the defense to provide evidence, all of this could have been proven in the trial," and "the bias arising from the error can be summarized simply: the prosecution was allowed to present an objectively erroneous case, but the defense was not allowed to refute it.
Shapiro argued in his appeal that Judge Kaplan clearly showed during the trial that he did not like SBF and accused him of favoring the government. The lawyer also claimed that the judge "improperly urged the jury" to make a verdict within one night, partly due to the provision of free dinner and vehicle services. Shapiro said, "Judge Kaplan has repeatedly expressed his firm belief in Bankman Fried's guilt
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