Legal advocates filed a petition with the court, aiming to secure the right to interrogate prosecution witnesses based on FTX’s terms of service. Simultaneously, they sought to preclude any testimonies from what they referred to as “lay fact witnesses.”
The legal representatives of the former CEO of FTX, Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried, are actively pursuing the introduction of specific elements from the cryptocurrency exchange’s terms of service during the upcoming witness testimonies. Their efforts were officially recorded in a filing dated October 12th within the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, underscoring their intention to address “certain evidentiary matters” pertaining to the ongoing criminal trial.
The core of the dispute revolves around the competing narratives presented by the prosecution and the defense regarding the alleged misuse of FTX’s financial resources. According to Bankman-Fried’s legal team, the prosecutors intended to summon witnesses to elucidate their “comprehension and anticipations” concerning the utilization of their deposits within FTX. On the opposing side, defense attorneys asserted that, irrespective of the users’ understanding of FTX’s terms of service, adherence to these terms constituted a valid defense against the charges.
The filing articulates the defense’s stance, contending, “The legal rights and obligations within a commercial relationship should not be predicated on the parties’ expectations and understandings, particularly concerning the misappropriation theory derived from federal fraud statutes.” The document further anticipates the interrogation of witnesses, who had previously been customers, investors of FTX, and lenders to Alameda, with the goal of extracting testimonies regarding the pivotal factors they considered significant when entering into the agreements and transactions central to the ongoing trial.
This filing was documented on October 12th by the legal team representing Sam Bankman-Fried within the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, as confirmed through the PACER database.
The defense’s petition to the court centers on their quest to examine prosecution witnesses based on FTX’s terms of service, and concurrently, to disallow testimonies from what they refer to as “lay fact witnesses.” This move was catalyzed by the testimony of Matt Huang, co-founder of Paradigm, who was deemed to provide an “expert opinion” rather than insights derived from “ordinary everyday experiences” concerning FTX’s services.
The filing critiques the government’s attempt to establish misappropriation through the testimonies of customers and other individuals regarding their beliefs and expectations. The defense argues that such a strategy seeks to circumvent the government’s responsibility to prove a crucial element of its embezzlement theory beyond a reasonable doubt. They contend, “In fact, introducing evidence of customers’ beliefs regarding their legal relationship with FTX would only serve to divert and confound the jurors when evaluating the facts within the context of the Terms of Service.”
On October 13th, the trial entered its eighth day, with Sam Bankman-Fried pleading not guilty to all charges. Notably, this week witnessed the testimony of Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research and SBF’s former girlfriend, who confessed to participating in fraudulent activities at the behest of Bankman-Fried. Her actions included providing deceptive documents and disseminating misleading statements about Alameda’s use of FTX funds.
Zac Prince, the CEO of BlockFi, took the stand late on October 12th and continued into October 13th. His testimony revolved around a substantial $400-million credit line that BlockFi extended to FTX US in July 2022, along with the reverberations caused by the downfall of Terraform Labs and Three Arrows Capital. The trial has been adjourned and is set to resume on October 16th.
