Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, who was convicted last month of stealing from its customers, will not face a second trial.
According to Reuters, US prosecutors have decided not to pursue a second trial against the 31-year-old former billionaire.
US Prosecutors Not Pursuing Second Sam Bankman-Fried Trial
In a letter submitted to Manhattan federal court on Friday night, prosecutors said the "strong public interest" in promptly resolving their case against Sam Bankman-Fried outweighed the benefits of a second trial.
They argued that this interest is particularly significant, given that Bankman-Fried's scheduled sentencing on March 28, 2024, is expected to involve orders of forfeiture and restitution for the victims.
Prosecutors had accused Bankman-Fried of stealing $8 billion from FTX customers out of pure greed, which he denied. Following his November 2 conviction on all seven fraud and conspiracy counts he faced, Bankman-Fried could face decades in prison when US District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan sentenced him.
Prosecutors said most of the evidence that can be offered at a second trial was already presented in the first trial. They added that a second trial would not affect the prison time Bankman-Fried might face under recommended federal guidelines.
They said Kaplan could consider all of Bankman-Fried's conduct when sentencing him for the crimes he was convicted. Bankman-Fried's once-$26 billion fortune has vanished after FTX filed for bankruptcy nearly a year before his verdict.
Six Additional Charges Against Sam Bankman-Fried
Reuters reported that Sam Bankman-Fried had also faced six additional charges severed from his first trial, including campaign finance violations, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, and conspiracy to commit bribery.
However, prosecutors said the Bahamas, where FTX was based, has not granted consent for a trial on these remaining charges, creating uncertainty on the timetable.
Bankman-Fried, who is expected to appeal his conviction, testified during the trial that he made mistakes in managing FTX but denied stealing customer funds. He also said he thought that borrowing money from FTX for his crypto-focused hedge fund, Alameda Research, was acceptable.
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