Sam Bankman-Fried charged with fraud as first congressional hearing closes – as it happened
Duncan Levin, managing partner at Levin & Associates and a former federal prosecutor, said the speed of the charges brought against Sam Bankman-Fried was “highly unusual”.
“This case came together shockingly fast,” he said. “Usually white collar cases are under investigation for months if not years before action takes place. Clearly this is a very high priority case.”
Levin, who has represented clients including Harvey Weinstein and Anna Delvey, said from his reading of the legal documents part of that speed was because prosecutors had decided that at its heart this is a simple fraud case.
“People are discussing this like it’s a complicated crypto case,” he said. But the court documents show that prosecutors believe Bankman-Fried “devised a scheme to defraud FTX customers by misappropriating their deposits,” he said. “It appears to be a traditional Ponzi scheme.”
To win a conviction, the prosecution will have to prove Bankman-Fried intentionally defrauded customers, said Levin. “That is going to be the core of the case.”
Read The Guardian article to learn more.