Former SEC attorney John Reed Stark has predicted that Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of defunct crypto exchange FTX, is unlikely to be acquitted of sweeping fraud charges that could result in a lifetime in prison. Stark cited the unprecedented level of access to witnesses and evidence possessed by the DOJ team, as well as the many high-profile executives close to Bankman-Fried who have already pled guilty to reduce their criminal sentences.
Bankman-Fried's post-FTX "public relations campaign" may have also incriminated him, and his hours of on-the-record explanations and responses could provide evidence of inconsistencies and falsehoods. Federal prosecutors involved in other cryptocurrency fraud schemes also see few paths to victory for Bankman-Fried.