Trial begins in criminal case against FTX founder

A federal court in Manhattan on Tuesday began jury selection for the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried. The founder of the now-bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency platform faces seven charges of fraud and conspiracy in connection with the collapse of his company. Prosecutors allege that Bankman-Fried defrauded billions of dollars from customers and used it to make risky investments in his cryptocurrency hedge fund, Alameda Research. Bankman-Fried said he did not knowingly commit fraud although he did make business mistakes. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Does he face any other charges? Federal prosecutors in March charged Bankman-Fried with bribing one or more Chinese officials to release assets that were frozen during an investigation. He faces another trial next year in that case. Bankman-Fried has been detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since August when Judge Lewis Kaplan revoked his bail. The judge determined that Bankman-Fried tried to influence witnesses in the fraud case. 

Dig deeper: Read Janie B. Cheaney’s column in WORLD Magazine about an idealistic movement that ignores our fallen nature.