According to Cointelegraph: Stanford Law School Professor and chief legal defender for Sam Bankman-Fried, David Mills, has confessed that the FTX fraud trial his client faced was nearly unattainable to win from the beginning. Bankman-Fried's disregard for Mills' advice and the damning testimonies by his former associates added to the mounting stack of evidence against the FTX founder.
In an exclusive interview with Bloomberg, Mills disclosed, “I thought it was almost impossible to win a case when three or four founders are all saying you did it,” adding the difficulty of winning such a case, despite suspecting potential deception from the founders.
Mills suggested that a plausible defense strategy for Bankman-Fried would have been to admit to the allegations presented by witnesses and the state prosecution, then persuaded the jury that his actions were intended to prevent the company from going bankrupt.
However, Bankman-Fried's approach in court played against his favor, as Mills pointedly described him as “the worst person I’ve ever seen do a cross-examination." The ill-prepared attempts to refute the allegations resulted in Bankman-Fried being found guilty on all seven charges.
Mills revealed that he had accepted to aid Bankman-Fried's defense at the request of the latter's parents—Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried—whom Mills is close friends with. He undertook the case pro bono driven by his friendship and passion for criminal law.
After the emotional toll of the trial, Mills conceded he wouldn't undertake such a case involving intimate relationships again.
Sam Bankman-Fried's conviction is composed of two counts each of wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy, along with one count each of securities fraud, commodities fraud conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy.
The former FTX CEO, aged 31, is due for sentencing on March 28, 2024, presided over by Judge Lewis Kaplan, who will determine the term of Bankman-Fried's incarceration. Government prosecutors meanwhile will present their sentencing recommendations.
