SBF Trial, Day 15: Prosecutors Hammer Bankman-Fried’s Contradictions With Reams of Evidence
Oct 31, 2023
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On day 15 of the trial, prosecutors relentlessly challenged Sam Bankman-Fried’s testimony, highlighting glaring contradictions. Danielle Sassoon showcased devastating evidence, including memos and internal documents, that undermined his claims. Notably, a chat revealed his intentions to buy MAPs token, contradicting his earlier denials. Further, he admitted to insincerity about regulatory support in a DM, raising eyebrows about his authenticity. The meticulous cross-examination aimed to dismantle his credibility and shed light on his true actions at FTX and Alameda.
The prosecution presented evidence that contradicted Sam Bankman-Fried's testimony, undermining his credibility and potentially impacting his chances with the jury.
The prosecution highlighted instances where Bankman-Fried's actions contradicted his public statements, particularly regarding FTX's responsible system and treatment of customer funds, raising concerns about potential misuse of funds.
Deep dives
Prosecution highlights contradictions in SPF's testimony
During the cross-examination, the prosecution relentlessly exposed contradictions in SPF's testimony through numerous pieces of evidence, including interviews, documents, and messages. This severely undermined his credibility and potentially impacted his chances of persuading the jury. By presenting SPF's own words and actions that contradicted his testimony, the prosecution aimed to cast doubt on his credibility and weaken his defense.
Bankman Freed's inability to answer basic questions about FTX
Bankman Freed struggled to provide clear and consistent answers about various aspects of FTX, including its responsible system, thoughtful exchange, risk management, and transparency. The prosecution repeatedly presented evidence of his prior statements that contradicted his current testimony, including tweets, interviews, and his testimony in front of Congress. This lack of clarity and inconsistency further undermined his credibility and raised doubts about his knowledge and understanding of FTX's operations.
Focus on Alameda research, customers, and Robinhood shares
The prosecution also examined SPF's involvement with Alameda research and the treatment of FTX customers. They highlighted instances where SPF's actions contradicted his public statements. The prosecution presented evidence to show that SPF's equity stake in Robinhood, primarily funded by FTX customer money, raised concerns about potential misuse of customer funds. They also questioned SPF's role as the sole member of Alameda's board of directors and his attempts to claim the Robinhood shares after FTX's bankruptcy. These points aimed to establish possible intent and proof of crimes related to customer funds.
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Relentless Prosecution: Unraveling Contradictions in Testimony
In a trial during which he has suffered many low points, former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried may have reached a nadir on day 15 as prosecutor Danielle Sassoon used his own words to show stark contradictions from his earlier testimony and a seemingly callous disregard for customer assets.
The tenacious, methodical Sassoon punctuated her more than four hours of interrogation on Monday afternoon with devastating audio and visual evidence of Bankman-Fried, including memos to himself, internal FTX and Alameda documents, and testimony to Congress that countered statements he’d made under his defense team team’s kinder questioning. In one instance, Sassoon showed a Signal chat in which Bankman-Fried expressed his interest in purchasing MAPs token, a direct refutation of his testifying that he “was not involved at all in any way” in trading.
In another instance, she illustrated Bankman-Fried’s alleged lack of regard for his Twitter followers, showing a screenshot of a Twitter DM with Kelsy Piper in which he admits to being insincere about his support for regulation that protects customers, telling Piper at one point, “just PR, fuck regulators.”
Bankman-Fried claimed not to remember a spreadsheet with seven, different balance sheets created by then Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison to make the company’s balance sheet look better than it was, a key piece of evidence that Ellison addressed in her testimony. Sassoon presented Google metadata showing Bankman-Fried had read the document.
Dressed in a light gray suit with a purple tie, Bankman-Fried claimed repeatedly not to remember other events or his responses in conversations, and he answered other questions with curt yeses and nos, unlike the windy, often convoluted responses that he provided to his defense team earlier in the day and on Monday. And as Sassoon continued to catch him in contradictions, he seemed to grow irritable and occasionally rocked back and forth in his chair.
Prosecutors will continue their cross-examination on Tuesday followed by redirect for one or two hours before the defense closes its case. The prosecution will then call two rebuttal witnesses.