Global News

[ad_1] Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to charges that he defrauded customers out of millions of dollars worth of digital assets. Wearing a backpack, Bankman-Fried made his way through a sea of cameras as he entered the Manhattan courthouse on a rainy day to stand before U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan. Bankman-Fried sat silent in the court room while attorney Mark Cohen announced his client's plea. "He pleads not guilty to all counts," Cohen said.  Judge Kaplan set a tentative trial date of Oct. 2. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York has  charged Bankman-Fried  with eight counts of fraud, money laundering and other financial crimes. Bankman-Fried, who stepped down as FTX's CEO in November, also violated political contribution laws by donating to candidates and committees in New York under another person's name,

[ad_1] FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried faced new fraud charges Thursday, as prosecutors accused him of cheating thousands of investors out of billions of dollars while casting himself as a trustworthy "savior of the cryptocurrency industry" — an image boosted by celebrity-studded Super Bowl advertising and big donations to political figures. Four new charges, including securities fraud and conspiracy fraud counts, were unveiled with the unsealing of the refreshed indictment in Manhattan federal court that was returned a day earlier. In a statement, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams hinted, as he has several times previously, that prosecutors were not finished building their case. "We are hard at work and will remain so until justice is done," he said. A spokesperson for Bankman-Fried declined to comment. FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried pleads not guilty to fraud