Cocoa Broker Testifies Bitcoin Holdings in Sam Bankman-Fried Trial on FTX
Prosecutors have begun calling witnesses in the criminal case against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, or SBF.
According to an October 4 X (ex-Twitter) Energy City Press thread, Assistant US Attorneys submitted testimony from Marc-Antoine Julliard, a London-based cocoa broker who uses FTX for crypto trading. Juilliard said he learned about the cryptocurrency exchange from a friend, saw advertisements for the company by Gisele Bündchen, and used the FTX mobile app to trade cryptocurrencies, including Dogecoin (DOGE).
In testimony before the court, Cocoa's broker said he had $80,000 worth of 4 Bitcoin (BTC) at the time and was unable to exit FTX in November 2022, following Banman-Fried's tweet that “assets were good.” SBF's legal team reportedly contacted FTX before Juilliard's testimony and asked him about his motives behind his crypto investments.
Among the witnesses expected to testify at trial are former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, FTX founder Gary Wang, former FTX director of engineering Nishad Singh, former FTX chief operating officer Constance Wang and SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci. It is unclear whether Bankman-Fried intends to take the stand himself.
We decided to show you the leadership of the @SBF_FTX experiment. Here's Bankman-Fried's life, life, life, life, life, life, life, life, life, life, life, life, life. From glass monologues to peanut butter parties, the fall is real. pic.twitter.com/v73IA6d5l2
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) October 3, 2023
Related: FTX-SBF payments are valid despite lack of US crypto laws, DOJ says
Judge Louis Kaplan completed jury selection on the morning of Oct. 4, after which defense attorneys and prosecutors began opening arguments in the trial. U.S. Attorney Tane Renn said SBF lied to FTX users, lawmakers and the public about the company's financial situation, blaming the former CEO's defense team in part on Caroline Ellison.
Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to seven felony charges in connection with the misappropriation of FTX client funds. He faces five more charges at a second trial scheduled for March 2024.
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