Bankman-Fried prosecutors may show jury evidence of political donations, judge rules
Also: Judge in Bankman-Fried trial to allow evidence of Chinese bribe, drug use by FTX execs (Fortune)
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Source: Reuters
Bankman-Fried prosecutors may show jury evidence of political donations, judge rules
Luc Cohen
Tue, September 26, 2023 at 1:33 PM EDT·2 min read
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Tuesday said prosecutors can discuss Sam Bankman-Fried's political donations at his upcoming trial, because the contributions are relevant to the fraud charges faced by the FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan said evidence of the former billionaire's donations were "intertwined inextricably" with charges he defrauded FTX customers by stealing billions of dollars in deposits.
"Evidence that the defendant spent FTX customer funds on political contributions is direct evidence of the wire fraud scheme because it is relevant to establishing the defendant's motive and allegedly fraudulent intent," Kaplan wrote.
Federal prosecutors initially charged Bankman-Fried, 31, with conspiring to break U.S. campaign finance laws, in addition to seven other fraud and conspiracy charges stemming from the now-bankrupt FTX's November 2022 collapse.
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Read more: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bankman-fried-prosecutors-may-show-173337868.html
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Source: Fortune
Judge in Bankman-Fried trial to allow evidence of Chinese bribe, drug use by FTX execs
Jeff John Roberts
Tue, September 26, 2023 at 2:51 PM EDT·3 min read
A federal judge issued a key evidentiary ruling on Tuesday that sheds light on the strategies the Justice Department and Sam Bankman-Fried will employ in the forthcoming trial of the disgraced FTX founder, which is set to begin next week.
In a 16-page order, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan agreed to let the prosecution present evidence to the jury that Bankman-Fried sought to bribe a Chinese official in hopes of getting access to $1 billion in funds the country had frozen. While the government has not charged Bankman-Fried with a crime in relation to the alleged incident in the upcoming trial, Kaplan found evidence about the bribe could support allegations about his motive for looting customer funds.
The China-related allegations are, however, the subject of a later trial based on a superseding indictment.
In another setback for Bankman-Fried, the judge also cited rules of criminal evidence to rule that the defendant could not tell the jury about his philanthropic work and charitable donations. According to Kaplan, any desire by the defense to paint Bankman-Fried as a good person is outweighed by potential jury confusion.
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Read more: https://news.yahoo.com/finance/news/judge-bankman-fried-trial-allow-185117203.html