Embattled crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried will not face a second criminal trial at the direction of prosecutors, who said the bulk of the evidence was already presented in the first proceeding.
Scheduled for March, the second trial was supposed to consider criminal counts against the disgraced FTX founder including conspiracy to bribe foreign officials, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business and substantive securities fraud and commodities fraud.
Prosecutors wrote in a note to Judge Lewis Kaplan Friday that there is a “strong public interest” in promptly resolving their case against Bankman-Fried rather than pursue a second trial, according to CNBC.
“Given that practical reality, and the strong public interest in a prompt resolution of this matter, the Government intends to proceed to sentencing on the counts for which the defendant was convicted at trial,” the lawyers wrote to Kaplan.
Hundreds of exhibits had already been entered into evidence into the first trial, which prosecutors argued is sufficient for deliberation before he is sentenced next year, Reuters said.
Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement to the court that “a second trial would not affect the United States Sentencing Guidelines range for the defendant, because the Court can already consider all of this conduct as relevant conduct when sentencing him for the counts that he was found guilty of at the initial trial,” according to CNBC.
In November, a jury found the fallen fintech guru guilty on all seven criminal fraud counts for his role in the crypto exchange’s downfall. Those counts included wire fraud on customers of FTX, conspiracy to commit wire fraud on customers of FTX, wire fraud on Alameda Research lenders, conspiracy to commit wire fraud on lenders to Alameda Research, conspiracy to commit securities fraud on investors in FTX, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud on customers of FTX, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Prosecutors alleged that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate stole $8 billion from FTX customers. During a month-long trial in a Manhattan federal court, prosecutors claimed Bankman-Fried misled investors and mishandled billions in funds. He was accused of misusing customer funds deposited with FTX to boost his crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research.
Bankman-Fried was extradited in December 2022 from the Bahamas, where FTX was located, to go to court on the first set of charges. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
He faces a maximum sentence of 115 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for March 28 at 9:30 a.m.
Bankman-Fried was a Democrat megadonor, giving nearly $39 million to Democrat-aligned causes during the 2022 election cycle.