Crypto fraud trial begins in third day

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Crypto fraud trial begins in third day

Sam Bankman-Fried's Crypto fraud trial began its third day Thursday, with one of his former allies, Adam Yedidia, returning to the stand as a prosecution witness.

Bankman-Fried faces seven charges in Manhattan federal court on fraud and conspiracy charges in relation to the shocking implosion of his crypto exchange and its related hedge fund, Alameda Research.

Opening arguments were held on Wednesday, followed by testimony from the prosecution's first witnesses. Yedidia was the second witness to testify and did so under an immunity order, meaning he can't be charged based on his testimony, so long as it is truthful.

Yedidia said he was Bankman-Fried's friend from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and worked at FTX.

Yedidia said he didn't want to be in the news, but said it was a matter of personal interest. They lived together and worked together, he said, which came to include FTX at one point.

Danielle Sassoon, a prosecutor, asked the judge if he could be heard about the case.

Why did Yedidia testify with an immunity order?

Julyliard testified.

He started to follow Twitter and Bankman-Fried's Twitter accounts and opened an FTX account in spring 2021.

Julliard said he was not confident he would win the election, and said he was confident he would win.

His testimony about extensive advertising and public relations showed how unsuspecting FTX investors dumped their money into the exchange by seeing respected, familiar faces on ads, including celebrities. Juneliard recalled seeing an ad with Supermodel Gisele Bündchen, who appeared in FTX advertising with her then husband, the NFL star Tom Brady.

He was asked what he thought about his deposits after reading those tweets, and said he thought his'money was there, it was fine' and that maybe there were just some technical difficulties. He chose to sit and wait and didn't try to pull out his money. At the time he had investments in FTX totalling about $100,000.

In keeping with open statements, the line of questioning was in keeping with the opening statements, during which prosecutor Thane Rehn described Bankman-Fried as an unrepentant huckster who pocketed FTX customer funds for his own purposes- and to buoy Alameda as crypto's volatility dealt it blow after blow.

His lawyer painted him an 'nerd' who meant to do the right thing but was overcome by a fast-growing company.

Sam didn't want to defraud anyone. Sam acted in good faith, said defense lawyer Mark Cohen.