The Prosecution and the Defense in SBF Trial Face-off during Closing Arguments
Defense attorney Mark Cohen claimed the prosecution in the trial of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried “has sought to turn Sam into some sort of monster.”
The defense likened the prosecution’s characterization of Bankman-Fried
as a villain in a movie while failing to take “a real-world perspective.”
The defense argued that the prosecution intentionally painted Bankman-Fried in a negative light when they showed a picture of the former “king of crypto” with a deck of cards to jurors while discussing his aptitude to take risks. Cohen claimed that, in actuality, Bankman-Fried did not gamble and used the deck of cards “to control his fidgeting.”
“We’ll agree that Sam was probably the worst-dressed CEO in the world and had the worst haircut,” Cohen claimed. However, Cohen continued that “Sam’s appearance and romantic relationships have nothing to do with whether he’s guilty or not.”
Cohen’s closing arguments are a far cry from what U.S. Assistant Attorney Nicolas Roos claimed in the prosecution’s closing arguments earlier Wednesday.
“He was gambling with customer money,” Roos said.
The prosecution primarily argued that Bankman-Fried’s “evasive” testimony, combined with the testimony of his own co-conspirators, is sufficient enough to be considered fraud. Roos claimed there were incidents where Bankman-Fried “was presented with a choice to double down about coming clean or to keep digging the hole deeper” but ultimately chose “a criminal path.”
“Follow the truth,” Roos instructed jurors. “Let the evidence prevail over his storytelling.”
“Do justice,” Roos concluded. “Reach the only verdict that’s consistent with the truth.”
Cohen pushed back the prosecution’s claims by arguing that Bankman-Fried did not knowingly commit wrongdoing.
While
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