Jury directions begin with Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial

Closing arguments in the criminal case against Sam Bankman Freed (SBF), the founder of crypto exchange FTX, have officially concluded with U.S. District Judge Louis Kaplan for the Southern District of New York moving to jury instructions.

In the indictment filed last December, Bankman-Fried faces a total of seven counts, including two counts of wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud, one count of securities fraud, one count of securities fraud, and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and commit campaign finance violations.

In his brief to the jury, Judge Kaplan stated that counts one and three – conspiring to defraud FTX's customers and using interstate wires to defraud creditors of Alameda Research through interstate wires – were actual or alleged crimes. It is not dependent on others.

“The government should not prove that the victim was actually harmed, not only the accused [Sam Bankman-Fried] Judge Kaplan contemplated some damages. The accused does not need to participate in the scheme from the beginning.

Relying on the advice of FTX counsel Daniel Friedberg, who appeared to withdraw SBF's earlier defense, Judge Kaplan told the jury that “attorney involvement is not a defense in and of itself.” Rather, “inference can be drawn from circumstantial evidence.”

Judge Kaplan also said that for the conspiracy charges in counts two and four, “it is sufficient that two or more persons agree to violate the law.” However, he cautioned, “It is not a crime to be present at the scene of the crime or to be friends with the criminal.”

In the ongoing criminal trial, key FTX executives — former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison, former FTX chief technology officer Gary Wang and former FTX head of engineering Nishad Singh — all pleaded guilty last November to charges related to the failure of the transition and are currently in prison. They are collaborating. In testimony against the US government against the SBF. If convicted, Bankman-Fried faces a maximum sentence of 115 years in prison. The jury will begin deliberations shortly after lunch.

Related: Sam Bankman-Fried Test [Day 16] – Latest update