The complex world of finance law has witnessed several cases over the past years, among them being Sam Bankman-Fried’s (SBF) lawsuit that started last year. The former FTX CEO and co-founder has been in the public eye after his case went viral, causing a chain reaction in the crypto community.
The case has shown to be of huge significance based on the implications it brought to crypto regulation, testing the integrity of the financial industry. In recent reports, the involvement of Judge Lewis A. Kaplan has escalated the case to another level.
He has showcased a stern approach and strictness as he meticulously placed SBF’s lawyers under scrutiny. This has caused a ripple effect in the digital world and the legal community. He made it clear that all the lawyers in his courtroom are subject to the same standards.
Judge Kaplan’s ire
Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is a prominent figure in the world of crypto based on his foothold in establishing one of the largest crypto exchanges before its collapse. The case revolves around allegations of manipulating the digital currency market, and Judge Kaplan was selected to preside over the case.
The FTX illegal operations have influenced the market as it keeps displaying far-reaching implications for the crypto community. After his nomination to handle the case, Judge Kaplan established that he would conduct the trial with high levels of professionalism, especially from the lawyers involved.
Based on the recent happenings, it’s evident that SBF’s trial is reaching a soul-sucking phase. The antsy Judge, Kaplan, has lashed out at prosecutors and the defense lawyers, asking them to stop wasting people’s time.
The incident was sparked on Wednesday when the government proffered two dud witnesses who did more harm than good to the state of the trial, losing Judge Kaplan’s patience. This did more harm to the airtight fraud case.
The witnesses involved were ex-FTX lobbyist Eliora Katz and Cory Gaddis, the paper-pushing Google bureaucrat. The two didn’t spend more than an hour on the stand when the Judge lost his patience. When they delivered lackluster performances.
SBF’s defense and the influence of Judge Kaplan’s comments
Judge Kaplan’s comments on the matter accused SBFs defense team of “calling up a mannequin,” ruling from Katz’s testimony. She had spent the entire morning mumbling variations, saying, “I don’t know anything, and I didn’t work at FTX back then,” and these were her responses to the most basic questions.
Judge Kaplan was peeved by the number of documents Katz was asked to read, given the statements made on Twitter.
Gaddis wasn’t any better, as his response to the legal inquiries was as vague as Katz’s. He spent his brief testimony that there existed metadata “I guess” that demonstrated Bankman-Fried’s involvement. The cross-examination showed that Gaddis had no clue about metadata.
Kaplan blasted the prosecution team about involving Gaddis, who flew in from Texas to New York to spend less than 15 minutes saying nothing of value to the case. He commented, saying, “Lawyers are supposed to do a little better than this – and I’m talking to both sides.”
The prosecution took a longer route in presenting their evidence on Wednesday that showed stipulations of SBF and FTX activities presented in a series of blog posts and videos. However, they seemed to lack stipulations.
Additionally, the SBF defense didn’t land any favors as an FBI forensic agent fumbled her testimony in housing the flow of funds that Alameda spent. She was witnessed quivering on the stand.
The repercussions of these witnesses’ mishaps by the prosecution team were dire. The Department of Justice (DOJ) concluded that it would not call Andria van der Merwe as a proposed expert witness. The only witnesses intended to appear on Thursday are Can Sun, FTX General Counsel, and Third Point’s Robert Boroujerdi.
Judge Kaplan was spotted staging, “We’re certainly not going to rebut the expert that they didn’t call. That seems reasonable.” That said, the trial will be on break until the 26th of October.
