FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried May Enter Guilty Plea on Cheating Charges
Sam Bankman-Fried is expected on Tuesday to enter a plea of not guilty to criminal charges that he cheated investors and looted billions of dollars at his now-bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange, according to a source familiar with the matter. Bankman-Fried is accused of illegally using FTX customer deposits to support his Alameda Research hedge fund, buy real estate and make millions of dollars in political contributions. He is scheduled to appear at 2pm EST on Tuesday (12:30am IST on Wednesday) before US District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan to enter a plea. A lawyer for Bankman-Fried did not immediately reply to a request for comment. It is not unusual for criminal defendants to initially plead not guilty. Defendants are free to change their plea at a later date. Bankman-Fried has been free on $250 million (roughly Rs. 2,000 crore) bond following his extradition last month from the Bahamas, where he lived and where the exchange was based. Since his release, Bankman-Fr...