The prosecution of Sam Bankman-Fried, accused of engineering “one of the biggest financial frauds in American history,” would appear to be an open-and-shut case, which is perhaps why most members of S.B.F.’s inner circle at FTX—Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, Nishad Singh—have accepted plea deals with the Justice Department. The 13-count indictment lays out in meticulous detail how S.B.F. allegedly absconded with customer deposits and misled investors and lenders as the crypto market collapsed, incinerating billions of dollars in assets. But did he really commit fraud?
S.B.F.’s Varsity Blues Defense
Eriq Gardner
May 15, 2023
