The criminal trial of disgraced crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried has not begun as yet and it has already become quite a sensation.
US District Judge Ronnie Abrams had originally been assigned to oversee the case, but she recused herself from it, citing a conflict of interest. This meant that another judge had to be assigned.
New appointment
An appointment has now been made and the new judge who will oversee the case is one who handled lawsuits against the likes of Donald Trump and Prince Andrew.
Lewis Kaplan is the US District Court judge who will oversee the forthcoming trial of the former CEO of the now-defunct crypto exchange FTX, after his colleague’s recusal.
Judge Kaplan was appointed on Monday and he has overseen a number of renowned trials, including that of Virginia Giuffre and Prince Andrew.
The former had sued Queen Elizabeth II’s second son and the Duke of York for sexual assault. A settlement was reached in the case back in February.
Judge Kaplan is also currently residing over the lawsuit filed against Donald Trump by ex-journalist E. Jean Carroll.
The latter has accused the former of defamation after the latter denied raping her in the 1990s. The judge was also the one to oversee the civil lawsuit brought for ‘unwanted sexual advances’ against actor Kevin Spacey.
The judge
The media has described the 78-year-old judge as someone who has a ‘no-nonsense’ style and has a reputation for making quick decisions.
Moreover, he is also familiar with the crypto world, as he was the one to oversee the first federal prosecution for bitcoin securities fraud.
Known as SBF in the crypto community, disgraced crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried has had eight criminal charges filed against him.
These include conspiracy to commit money laundering and wire fraud. Last week, Bankman-Fried had been released on a pre-trial bond worth $250 million and would stay at his parents’ home.
He had been extradited from the Bahamas to the United States last week, where his crypto exchange was based.
The case
The Jane Street alumnus established his FTX crypto empire and became one of the richest people in the world.
However, the fresh-faced crypto entrepreneur saw everything blow up last month in what has turned out to be one of the most dramatic implosions in the history of the crypto space, as it took down most of the market with it.
The allegations indicated that SBF used his investors’ funds that were deposited on the FTX crypto exchange for making risky bets through his trading firm, Alameda Research.
The former CEO of Alameda Research, Caroline Ellison has already pled guilty and admitted to wrongdoing in collusion with Sam Bankman-Fried.
However, his criminal trial has not begun as yet and it should be noted that he has denied all allegations made against him.
The case of the crypto entrepreneur is being handled by the Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit of the US Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York.
