The head of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried's (SBF) legal team, David Mills, admitted that the chances of winning the fraud lawsuit were virtually nil. He spoke about this in an interview with Bloomberg .
“It’s almost impossible to win a case when three or four co-founders are accusing you. Even if they are all lying through their teeth, it is really very difficult to win in this case,” the lawyer explained.
Mills knew that Bankman-Fried would face at least three important witnesses: Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison , FTX co-founder Gary Wang , and the exchange's head of engineering Nishad Singh .
The lawyer said SBF "went off script" when he testified before the jury during the trial. However, he had no other choice after the statements of his former colleagues, the defense lawyer admitted.
At the same time, Mills described Bankman-Fried as "the worst person I've ever seen under cross-examination." During the procedure, the former head of FTX unsuccessfully tried to refute several incriminating statements, only convincing the jury of his guilt, the lawyer clarified.
The lawyer also said that he agreed to defend Bankman-Fried at the request of his parents. Mills was probably a friend of Joseph Bankman and Barbara Freed and worked for free.
At the end of the interview, he added that he would no longer take on the affairs of close people:
“I don’t intend to get emotionally involved in a case like this again on a very deep personal level.”
On November 2, SBF was found guilty of seven counts of money laundering, fraud and conspiracy and faces a maximum penalty of 115 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for March 28, and his lawyers are expected to appeal.
The founder of FTX was taken into custody in Brooklyn Prison (New York). According to the WSJ, he shared a cell with former Honduran President Juan Hernandez and gave advice to guards about investing in cryptocurrency.
Let's remember that in December, blogger Tiffany Fong interviewed former mafioso Gene Borrello, who was sitting with Bankman-Fried. He said SBF was initially "out of its element" and was targeted for attacks due to its timid nature and "80-year-old body."
