Prosecutors, defence paint conflicting pictures of crypto founder Sam Bankman-Fried

In closing arguments, government says FTX founder stole and lied, while Bankman-Fried lawyer says he has been misportrayed.

In a courtroom sketch, Judge Lewis Kaplan watches as FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried testifies earlier in his fraud trial. Picture: Jane Rosenberg/ Reuters

Prosecutors and defence attorneys clashed on Wednesday (US time) over whether FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was a liar who stole billions of dollars — or an unconventional executive who made mistakes.

During his closing argument, Assistant US Attorney Nicolas Roos told jurors that almost a year ago, when thousands of people were trying to withdraw their money from the collapsing crypto exchange, their dread turned to despair.

“Who was responsible?” said Mr Roos, who then turned and pointed his finger at the defence table. “This man, Samuel Bankman-Fried.”

The FTX founder’s defence attorney told jurors that prosecutors were portraying Bankman-Fried as a movie villain. “In the real world people misjudge things,” Mark Cohen told the jury. “They make mistakes.”

The arguments came at the end of the monthlong trial of Mr Bankman-Fried, 31 years old, who faces seven criminal counts, including fraud and money-laundering offences.

At the defence table, Mr Bankman-Fried sat flanked by his lawyers, at times his whole body vibrating under his over-size gray suit. His parents, who have been a regular presence in the courtroom, were notably absent from their seat behind the sketch artists during prosecutors’ presentation, but returned when their son’s lawyer spoke to the jury.

Over nearly four hours, Mr Roos showed jurors excerpts of testimony from three members of Mr Bankman-Fried’s inner circle, all of whom testified they committed crimes at the direction of Mr Bankman-Fried. He displayed a snippet of computer code that he said showed Alameda Research, FTX’s sister hedge fund, had special secret privileges on the exchange.

“The reason it’s secret is because he knows it’s wrong,” Mr Roos said of Mr Bankman-Fried.

The core dispute, Roos said, wasn’t whether Mr Bankman-Fried took the money, but whether he knew it was wrong. He accused Mr Bankman-Fried of lying to jurors on the stand.“ It’s not about technical jargon,” the prosecutor said. “It’s about deception, it’s about lies, it’s about stealing, it’s about greed.”

Most jurors looked at Mr Roos intently throughout his presentation, only occasionally glancing at the screens where he was displaying evidence from the trial.

“The Defendant’s Lies to the Public,” said the text atop one batch of evidence, which included Mr Bankman-Fried’s media interviews, tweets and congressional testimony.

Mr Roos peppered his argument with what came across as off-the-cuff comments. He referred to “a funny piece of cross-examination that stuck with me,” while referring to Mr Bankman-Fried’s assertion that some low-level employees moved certain funds.

“Give me a break, that’s a lie,” the prosecutor later said, in response to one piece of evidence. When defence attorney Mr Cohen started his closing arguments on Wednesday afternoon, he told jurors that the government was painting his client as unlikeable. Prosecutors focused on Mr Bankman-Fried’s sex life, his hair and his ubiquitous T-shirts, Mr Cohen said, as he displayed photos of his client on a private jet and with floppy hair.

“We’ll agree that there was a time when Sam was probably the worst dressed CEO in the world, and had the worst haircut,” Mr Cohen said. Mr Bankman-Fried also talked to almost anyone who asked, Mr Cohen said.

“That made his life messy,” the lawyer added. “But that’s not a crime.”

He said none of the witnesses, including Mr Bankman-Fried’s inner circle, testified that the FTX founder instructed them to violate the law. Mr Bankman-Fried and others had differences in business judgment, including related to valuing assets, Mr Cohen told the jury.

Defence attorneys used some of their presentation to shore up the testimony of Mr Bankman-Fried, who spent three days on the witness stand. When questioned by his lawyers, Bankman-Fried testified confidently about his role as FTX’s CEO. He acknowledged that he made mistakes but said he never intended to defraud anyone.

During cross examination, Mr Bankman-Fried struggled to answer questions. He faced particularly tough questioning about his public statements, many of them made after FTX’s collapse.

Mr Roos had accused Mr Bankman-Fried of lying on the stand, and said the FTX founder told jurors he couldn’t recall about 140 times.

Mr Cohen called the government’s portrayal of his client’s testimony unfair. Mr Bankman-Fried did his best to describe what happened and what he remembered, Mr Cohen told jurors, although was less polished than government witnesses. He noted Mr Bankman-Fried answered questions with “yups and yeahs.”

“He was himself,” Mr Cohen said. “He was Sam.”

Mr Cohen told jurors that prosecutors hadn’t met their burden of proof, and that Mr Bankman-Fried acted in good faith and didn’t intend to deceive anyone.

US District Judge Lewis Kaplan said jurors would begin deliberations on Thursday, and if no one had a conflict, they might stay later than usual that day. They might even get a few perks from the late night, he added.

“I don’t vouch for the quality,” the judge said, “but you would be entitled to dinner.”

—James Fanelli and Caitlin Ostroff contributed to this article.

The Wall Street Journal