SBF Lawyer: Winning the Case Was ‘Almost Impossible’

David Mills, head of the legal team for FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), said that the odds of winning the fraud trial were virtually zero. He told Bloomberg in an interview with Bloomberg.

“Winning a case is almost impossible when three or four co-founders are accusing you. Even if they are all lying through their teeth, winning in such a case is really difficult,” the lawyer explained.

Mills knew that Bankman-Fried would face at least three key witnesses: Alameda head Caroline Ellison, FTX co-founder Gary Wang, and the exchange’s head of engineering Nishad Singh.

According to the lawyer, SBF “testified” before the jurors during the trial. However, he had no choice after statements by former colleagues, the defender acknowledged.

Moreover, Mills described Bankman-Fried as “the worst person I have ever seen in cross-examination.” During the proceedings, the former FTX chief unsuccessfully attempted to rebut several inculpatory statements, only convincing the jurors of his guilt, the lawyer noted.

The lawyer also said that he agreed to defend Bankman-Fried at the request of his parents. Mills was likely a friend of Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried and worked pro bono.

He added at the end of the interview that he would not take on cases involving close relatives again:

“I am not going to emotionally involve myself in a similar case again, on such a deeply personal level.”

On November 2, SBF found guilty on seven counts of money laundering, fraud and conspiracy, and faces a maximum sentence of 115 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for March 28, and his lawyers are expected to appeal.

The founder of FTX was held in a Brooklyn, New York jail. According to WSJ, he was in the same cell as former Honduran president Juan Hernandez and was giving the guards tips on cryptocurrency investments.

In December, blogger Tiffany Fong gave an interview to former mobster Gen Borrello, who was jailed alongside Bankman-Fried. He said that initially SBF was not in his element and was targeted for attacks because of his shy demeanor and “the body of an 80-year-old man.”