Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried to take the stand in own fraud trial

Sam Bankman-Fried will take the stand in his own defense, his attorneys declared at a court hearing in New York City on Wednesday.

The disgraced founder of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX has remained silent so far but will make his case to the jury as federal prosecutors plan to bring forth their final witness to the stand on Thursday. According to his lawyers, Mark Cohen and Christian Everdell of the law firm Cohen and Gresser, Bankman-Fried will testify after they present three witnesses.

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The 31-year-old former billionaire pleaded not guilty to seven criminal charges against him, including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

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The jury has heard weeks of testimony from FTX customers who argue Bankman-Fried was involved in a scheme to steal as much as $10 billion from them. FTX customers claim they could not withdraw their funds in November 2022 because Bankman-Fried let Alameda Research, his crypto trading fund, spend the money.

His lawyers are arguing that Bankman-Fried never intended to defraud anyone and that he was unaware of what was happening at Alameda Research.