On a warm October morning in New York City, Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, appeared in court with his attorney, kicking off what government prosecutors estimate will be a six-week showdown between the teams. Composed of senior attorneys and experienced criminal defense attorneys from the Southern District of New York.
However, it didn’t start with fireworks. It was a procedural hearing to select the 12 jury members and six alternates who will ultimately decide the fate of the crypto prodigy turned (alleged) cryptocurrency criminal.
However, there are some surprising things – from new revelations about the plea agreement to a new look at FTX’s former CEO. Here’s what happened on day one, in what’s sure to be a month-and-a-half torrent of SBF, SBF, and SBF.
A plea deal was never reached
Before the jury selection process began, prosecutor Nicholas Roos addressed Judge Lewis Kaplan and said – in what he said was a customary statement at the start of a criminal trial – the government had made an early move to discuss a plea deal. idea, but the answer is “no.”
It’s unclear whether the “no” came from Bankman-Fried’s team or an internal decision by prosecutors; however, despite the agreement reached with four former FTX deputies after Bankman-Fried was charged in December, prosecutors This is the first public confirmation that officials never reached a formal plea deal with the FTX co-founder.
A spokesman for the Southern District of New York declined to clarify the ambiguity. wealthan attorney representing Bankman-Fried did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Yes, he did cut his hair
On Monday, “pharma bro” Martin Shkreli, who served four years in prison for securities fraud, posted on X (formerly Twitter) that he had heard Bankman-Fried (known for being unruly) known for his curly black hair) cut off his own hair. (Shkreli, who also spent time in a Brooklyn jail, decided to get immersed in the details of another alleged white-collar crime case when he was released early.)
Bankman-Fried did sport a new haircut when he appeared in court on Tuesday, but unsurprisingly, the former billionaire’s signature image of general messiness was, well, still messy.
Even through the pixelation of the court cameras, his hair stood strangely on end as he hunched over his laptop taking notes during the proceedings. Instead, he wore a suit, swapping his signature pleated T-shirt and cargo shorts for a gray jacket and trousers.
Something that surprised jurors
After further instructions from Kaplan, about 50 potential jurors filed into the courtroom and another group was sent to the overflow room.
Caplan, often with humor, slowly sifted through the jurors, first asking those who were called to the stand whether they could be fair and impartial. Some potential jurors raised their hands and were summarily dismissed after hearing a brief description of the case.
As of Tuesday afternoon, jury selection was underway.
One potential juror said she worked at Insight Partners, a venture capital and private equity firm that invested in FTX and Alameda in July 2021. However, she made no investment and said she could fairly weigh the evidence before her about Bankman. Fried is suspected of fraud.
Kaplan asked at one point whether six weeks of jury duty would create unnecessary hardship for those who remain in the courtroom. One potential juror said his employer would only pay him for two weeks if he was selected. Another said he was currently unemployed and looking for a new job. Therefore, he believed that spending six weeks on a job search would be an undue burden.
Presiding over the trial of a former cryptocurrency commodities exchange executive, Kaplan asked the juror what he did for a living. “I’m a commodities trader,” he replied.
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