FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Won’t Face Second Criminal Trial, U.S. Prosecutors Say

FTX
Founder
Sam
Bankman-Fried
will
not
face
a
second
criminal
trial,
federal
prosecutors
said
Friday
in
a
letter
filed
in
New
York
federal
court.

In
the
letter,
prosecutors
suggested
a
second
trial
would
“delay”
a
“timely
and
just
resolution
of
the
case.”
The
government’s
lawyers
also
argued
that
their
original
case
against
Bankman-Fried
had
already
provided
ample
evidence
that
the
former
executive
committed
a
rash
of
financial
crimes
during
his
tenure
at
FTX,
making
a
second
trial
largely
unnecessary,
according
to
the
filing.

“Given
that
practical
reality,
and
the
strong
public
interest
in
a
prompt
resolution
of
this
matter,
the
Government
intends
to
proceed
to
sentencing
on
the
counts
for
which
the
defendant
was
convicted
at
trial,”
prosecutors
said
in
the
letter
to
Judge
Lewis
Kaplan,
who
presided
over
Bankman-Fried’s
first
criminal
trial
last
fall.

The
letter
puts
an
end
to
speculation
that
Bankman-Fried
could
be
tried
on
additional
criminal
charges.
Earlier
this
year,
law
enforcement
in
the
Bahamas,
where
Bankman-Fried’s
companies
were
based,
and
the
U.S.
tussled
over
which
country’s
prosecutors
had
the
right
to
try
the
erstwhile
FTX
CEO.

In
November,
a
jury
found
Bankman-Fried
guilty
of
seven
counts
of
wire
fraud,
securities
fraud
and
money
laundering,
among
other
charges.
His
crimes,
which
came
to
light
in
2022,
resulted
in
the
loss
of
billions
of
dollars
worth
of
FTX
and
Alameda
Research
investors’
funds,
deepening
a
crypto
market
downturn
that
had
begun
earlier
that
year.

Bankman-Fried
will
be
sentenced
in
March
2024.
He
faces
a
maximum
prison
sentence
of
more
than
100
years.