Lawyers for disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried argued that the prosecution is unfairly portraying the suspect as a “monster” as the trial concludes.
According to a Reuters report, Bankman-Fried’s attorney, Mark Cohen, addressed the jury and said the prosecutor had elicited testimony about the defendant’s sex life and appearance in an attempt to portray him as a villain and sway the jury to make you hate him.
As Cohen says:
“Time and time again, the government has tried to turn Sam into some kind of villain, some kind of monster. And let’s be honest, an awkward high school math nerd doesn’t look exactly mean. So what did they do? They wrote him as a villain in the movie.
Court transcripts from Inner City Press ahead to reveal Cohen’s position that the prosecutor tried to portray Bankman-Fried in a negative light using irrelevant material.
“The government has tried to turn Sam into some kind of monster. It’s wrong and unfair. And it is not a basis for deciding this case…
There was a time when Sam was the worst dressed CEO in the world and had the worst haircut. He spoke to every blogger. That is not a crime.”
During the prosecution’s closing statements yesterday, the government addressed the jury and said Bankman-Fried is guilty of all his charges beyond a reasonable doubt, citing the testimony of his former colleagues.
Bankman-Fried is accused of mishandling billions of dollars in customer funds and defrauding investors. It is alleged that he instructed FTX executives to transfer FTX customers’ funds to Alameda Research – the crypto exchange’s sister company – to make crypto bets that went wrong.
If convicted of his charges, he faces decades in prison.
However, according to Cohen, Bankman-Fried was not included in the testimonies of other former FTX directors instruct them to commit crimes.
“None of the witnesses testified that Sam told them to break the law. We offer a realistic perspective. Things get messy. People judge things wrong.”
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Featured image: Shutterstock/Tithi Luadthong
