District judge lewis kaplan has replaced his colleague ronnie abrams to oversee the forthcoming federal criminal trial of disgraced crypto mogul sam bankman-fried. bankman-fried is facing eight criminal charges—including wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering—and was released last week to his parents’ home on a $250 million pre-trial bond after being extradited to the u.s. from the bahamas. judge kaplan has overseen a number of high-profile trials, including when virginia giuffre sued prince andrew, duke of york, for sexual assault and a civil lawsuit against actor kevin spacey for an alleged “unwanted sexual advance.” he is also currently overseeing a lawsuit brought forward by ex-journalist e. jean carroll against donald trump for defamation.
Events surrounding the trial of sam bankman-fried began in february when prince andrew’s case was settled. judge kaplan has been described by the media as having a “no-nonsense” style and is known for quick decisions. he has also overseen the first federal bitcoin securities fraud prosecution. bankman-fried became one of the richest people in the world with his ftx crypto empire and was extradited from the bahamas to the u.s. last week.
Is alleged that bankman-fried committed fraud by using investors’ funds from the ftx crypto exchange to make risky bets via trading firm alameda research, which he also founded. new ftx ceo john j ray iii said that even with his extensive experience, the ftx mess has been shocking. he claims “a very small group of grossly inexperienced and unsophisticated individuals” led to its collapse. donald trump denied that he raped e. jean carroll in the 1990s. the complex frauds and cybercrime unit at the southern district of new york u.s. attorney’s office is handling the case.
https://decrypt.co/118029/sam-bankman-fried-gets-judge-from-trump-kevin-spacey-cases
