- Sam Bankman-Fried has escaped a second criminal trial after federal prosecutors decided it wasn’t worth it
- Judge Lewis Kaplan scrapped the second trial after the DoJ informed him that, in its opinion, it wasn’t in the public’s interest to pursue the case
- The case would have been related to Bankman-Fried’s alleged illegal political contributions
Sam Bankman-Fried has escaped a second criminal trial after the Department of Justice (DoJ) decided that it wasn’t worth it. The second trial, which would have concerned the former FTX CEO’s alleged impropriety over political campaign donations, was scrapped by the judge after the DoJ informed him last week that it was not in the public’s interest to pursue the case. The decision came almost two months after Bankman-Fried was found guilty of conducting multiple financial crimes and three months before he will be sentenced.
DoJ Says Case Wouldn’t Benefit Public
The DoJ wrote to Judge Lewis Kaplan last week to state that evidence at a second trial would duplicate that already shown to the jury in Bankman-Fried’s initial trial, adding that it would ignore the “strong public interest in a prompt resolution” of the case, particularly because victims would not benefit from forfeiture or restitution orders if sentencing is delayed.
While Bankman-Fried was accused of “conspiracy to make unlawful campaign contributions” during his trial, these allegations were not part of the case against him. The government had argued that Bankman-Fried’s involvement in unlawful political contributions had been proven and the judge could consider this during sentencing, but noted that the potential duplication of evidence, plus the fact that Bankman-Fried faces decades in jail anyway, rendered a second trial moot.
Bankman-Fried Still Faces Civil Cases
US Attorney Damian Williams confirmed the decision on Friday, with the DoJ opting to remove a potential sentencing roadblock that may not add any meaningful years to Bankman-Fried’s potential term.
The 31-year-old is scheduled to be sentenced on March 28 for various charges, including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The potential sentence could exceed 100 years, so unless Bankman-Fried has uncovered the secret to eternal life, a few more years on top won’t make a practical difference.
The disgraced CEO will still face civil charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission which could see him hit with massive financial penalties.
