According to the court filing, the co-founder of the fraud FTX crypto exchange, SBF, will be presented against the Federal court in the SDNY on 3rd January 2023. A report published by Reuters states that the disgraced FTX co-founder is planning to enter into a plea in his fraud case in front of the US judge, Mr Kaplan, in Manhattan.
Lewis Kaplan is the new judge
A few days ago, Judge Ronnie Abrams, who was going to preside over the SBF case, withdrew from the case, citing a conflict of interest. As per the reports, she was forced to step back because her husband, Greg Andres, was an FTX adviser last year. He is a partner at the white shoe international law firm headquartered in NY. After Abrams withdrew from the case, the judge appointed was Lewis Kaplan.
The 78-year-old Kaplan is pretty popular and also known as a “no-nonsense” judge who has resided over many essential and high-profile cases involving individuals like Prince Andrew, New York Duke, and the 45th president of the US, Donald Trump. Reuters released a report on Dec 28, 2022, stating that SBF will face Judge Kaplan and is expected to submit a plea during his case.
Wice says the Feds have a case with very few loopholes
Recently, a Congressman said that the ex-CEO of Alameda Research, Caroline Ellison, and FTX co-founder Garg Wang are working closely with the Feds. Both of them turned against SBF, and Ellison also told in her testimony about the number of fraudulent acts she became a part of since 2019. This will make it difficult for the FTX founder to stay out of the danger zone.
Moreover, many believe the court will take strict action against SBF. While criminal defence attorney Brian Wice was talking about the situation with Yahoo Finance Live, he told the host that the US Attorney in SNDY has the case with very few loopholes that will make it difficult for SBF.
Wice also said that the Feds would not go on if they were convinced they could make their case beyond a reasonable doubt. As far as Ellison and Wang are concerned, Wice said they did not have any ironclad plea deals but stressed that these two people could get substantial reductions in their sentences if they came in and testified truthfully.
What are your thoughts as reports say that SBF will be presented against the Federal court in the SDNY? How can the SBF case turn around if Ellison and Wang testify truthfully? Let us know in the comments below. And, if you found our content informative, share it with your family and friends.
Also Read: Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao expects a crypto bull market in 2023.