# Sam Bankman convicted 2023-11-02 (was living with parents, then jail). Is BTC and cryptocurrency busted too? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 23, 2022, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-bankman-convicted-2023-11-02-was-living-with-parents-then-jail-is-btc-and-cryptocurrency-busted-too/977019 "2022-12-23T20:10:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-bankman-convicted-2023-11-02-was-living-with-parents-then-jail-is-btc-and-cryptocurrency-busted-too/977019/161 "2023-10-23T19:24:14Z")
The prosecution has rested and the defense starts up on Thursday. The big question is whether or not SBF testifies in his own defense. This is something that rarely happens and only then as a hail mary when they’re going to lose anyway. It’ll probably go to the jury next week. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-bankman-convicted-2023-11-02-was-living-with-parents-then-jail-is-btc-and-cryptocurrency-busted-too/977019/162 "2023-10-23T21:08:53Z")
Do we have any tea leaf readings on the defense’s strategy? Sometimes I get the sense that the facts and the law are both firmly on the prosecution’s side, and the defense will come down to “I did it for reasons that transcend the law”. (Or more generically, “that law doesn’t apply to me.”) ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2023, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-bankman-convicted-2023-11-02-was-living-with-parents-then-jail-is-btc-and-cryptocurrency-busted-too/977019/163 "2023-10-23T22:46:40Z")
Speculation is that the defense will be along the lines of, he was a wistful visionary and his underlings did those things without his knowledge or direction. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2023, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-bankman-convicted-2023-11-02-was-living-with-parents-then-jail-is-btc-and-cryptocurrency-busted-too/977019/164 "2023-10-25T17:55:35Z")
He could see the far off future, but dammit all, he couldn’t see what was going on right under his nose in the present. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2023, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-bankman-convicted-2023-11-02-was-living-with-parents-then-jail-is-btc-and-cryptocurrency-busted-too/977019/165 "2023-10-25T18:14:10Z")
He’s scheduled to testify tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2023, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-bankman-convicted-2023-11-02-was-living-with-parents-then-jail-is-btc-and-cryptocurrency-busted-too/977019/166 "2023-10-25T18:15:51Z")
Is he definitely going to testify? The defense starts tomorrow. They may have other witnesses as well ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2023, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-bankman-convicted-2023-11-02-was-living-with-parents-then-jail-is-btc-and-cryptocurrency-busted-too/977019/167 "2023-10-25T18:17:31Z")
From the [New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/25/technology/sam-bankman-fried-testify-fraud-trial.html), > Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, is planning to testify at his criminal fraud trial in Manhattan, his lawyer said on Wednesday. > > The lawyer, Mark Cohen, confirmed Mr. Bankman-Fried’s plans at a hearing with prosecutors and the judge overseeing the case, which was held on the last day of a nearly weeklong break in the trial. Mr. Bankman-Fried, 31, is likely to begin testifying on Thursday, after federal prosecutors call their final witness in the morning. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2023, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-bankman-convicted-2023-11-02-was-living-with-parents-then-jail-is-btc-and-cryptocurrency-busted-too/977019/168 "2023-10-25T19:35:45Z")
This should be entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2023, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-bankman-convicted-2023-11-02-was-living-with-parents-then-jail-is-btc-and-cryptocurrency-busted-too/977019/169 "2023-10-25T19:52:01Z")
I can’t imagine this working out the way SBF thinks it will work out . ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2023, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-bankman-convicted-2023-11-02-was-living-with-parents-then-jail-is-btc-and-cryptocurrency-busted-too/977019/170 "2023-10-25T19:54:40Z")
I think he thinks that he odds are incrementally better if he testifies and he may be correct. He may also think that he’s smart enough to outsmart very experienced legal professionals and if so he is sadly mistaken. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2023, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-bankman-convicted-2023-11-02-was-living-with-parents-then-jail-is-btc-and-cryptocurrency-busted-too/977019/171 "2023-10-25T20:07:30Z")
I wonder how his deposition went, and if his lawyers gave him a big pat on the back afterwards, and told him how great he was. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2023, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-bankman-convicted-2023-11-02-was-living-with-parents-then-jail-is-btc-and-cryptocurrency-busted-too/977019/172 "2023-10-25T20:20:27Z")
By all accounts, he is testifying against his lawyers advice but who knows? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2023, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-bankman-convicted-2023-11-02-was-living-with-parents-then-jail-is-btc-and-cryptocurrency-busted-too/977019/173 "2023-10-25T20:23:15Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > I wonder how his deposition went Would he give a deposition in a criminal case? ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2023, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-bankman-convicted-2023-11-02-was-living-with-parents-then-jail-is-btc-and-cryptocurrency-busted-too/977019/174 "2023-10-25T20:37:57Z")
Oh, good point. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2023, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-bankman-convicted-2023-11-02-was-living-with-parents-then-jail-is-btc-and-cryptocurrency-busted-too/977019/175 "2023-10-25T20:59:37Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > For instance, in Israel, many if not most people who call themselves vegetarian also eat fish - because in Judaism, fish isn’t considered meat. Also why Catholics used to eat fish on “meatless” Fridays. ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2023, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-bankman-convicted-2023-11-02-was-living-with-parents-then-jail-is-btc-and-cryptocurrency-busted-too/977019/176 "2023-10-26T09:11:03Z")
SBF is has a fondness for a reckless gamble if he thinks there’s a big payoff, it’s fair to say. He has almost certainly produced to his own satisfaction some analysis that says something like, “I am currently pretty likely to go to jail. If I testify, the odds that it helps keep me out of jail are very slim. But staying out of jail is such an amazing pay off compared to, you know, the rest of my life in prison, that anything that might shift those odds even a little is worth it.” I think that ignores a fairly large element, to wit: “If I testify it may greatly increase my chances of going to jail” but I am not a genius philanthropist cryptoguru, so what do I know? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2023, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-bankman-convicted-2023-11-02-was-living-with-parents-then-jail-is-btc-and-cryptocurrency-busted-too/977019/177 "2023-10-26T18:31:40Z")
SBF took the stand a little bit ago but without the jury present. They are doing a hearing on what can be discussed in front of the jury. He will give real testimony tomorrow first thing. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2023, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-bankman-convicted-2023-11-02-was-living-with-parents-then-jail-is-btc-and-cryptocurrency-busted-too/977019/178 "2023-10-26T23:02:51Z")
Here’s a report on what happened today. Kind of a trial run for the real trial tomorrow. SVF didn’t do well but at least he got to practice. > **[In Bizarre Twist, SBF Finally Testifies—But With No Jury](https://www.yahoo.com/news/bizarre-twist-sbf-finally-testifies-214333053.html)** > > The FTX founder appeared antsy on the stand as he told his side of the story. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-bankman-convicted-2023-11-02-was-living-with-parents-then-jail-is-btc-and-cryptocurrency-busted-too/977019/179 "2023-10-27T02:23:38Z")
Although it’s slanted, I like The Verge’s reporting on today’s festivities. > **[Sam Bankman-Fried is going to talk himself right into jail](https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/26/23934195/sam-bankman-fried-self-testimony-deleted-signal)** > > Somehow, the least suspicious parts of his defense are the 288 auto-deleting Signal conversations. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-bankman-convicted-2023-11-02-was-living-with-parents-then-jail-is-btc-and-cryptocurrency-busted-too/977019/180 "2023-10-27T02:56:24Z")
Outstanding article. Apparently the prosecutor went full on against SBF. Doesn’t that give him a bit of a warning and time to prepare? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-bankman-convicted-2023-11-02-was-living-with-parents-then-jail-is-btc-and-cryptocurrency-busted-too/977019.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-bankman-convicted-2023-11-02-was-living-with-parents-then-jail-is-btc-and-cryptocurrency-busted-too/977019.md?page=10)