Federal prosecutors have agreed to drop five charges against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried on the condition that he face trial on them at a later date.
Mr. Bankman-Fried is facing 13 financial-fraud charges related to FTX’s practices, ranging from campaign finance violations to money laundering. Originally, he was charged on eight counts, but authorities tacked on five more after he was extradited from the Bahamas in December.
At a hearing on Thursday, prosecutors offered to “sever” those five charges so that the former cryptocurrency guru’s trial can start earlier.
The trial for the original eight charges is set to take place on Oct. 2. If the other charges are severed then a separate trial for those will take place sometime in early 2024.
Prosecutors told Judge Lewis Kaplan that the additional five charges need to go through a lengthy judicial review process in the Bahamas, and keeping them attached would delay the trial.
Judge Kaplan has not yet ruled on allowing the severing.
While the separation may delay the conclusion of Mr. Bankman-Fried’s legal troubles, it doesn’t necessarily alleviate them.
Prosecutors say that Mr. Bankman-Fried masterminded a yearslong scam at FTX where he gambled away billions in investor dollars at his own trading firm and used company profits to lobby lawmakers for more-friendly cryptocurrency regulations.
If convicted on all charges he could face up to 100 years in prison. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is out on bail.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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