Jury selection begins in trial of fallen cryptocurrency mogul Sam Bankman-Fried

Jury selection began Tuesday in the fraud trial of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried after a prosecutor revealed that no discussions about a potential plea agreement took place in the nearly 10 months since the cryptocurrency executive was arrested and brought to the United States.
Once a billionaire, the 31-year-old crypto mogul faces the possibility of a long prison term if convicted at a trial projected to last up to six weeks. In a makeover for trial, Bankman-Fried gave up his wild big-hair look for a scissored-down trim more common in the financial industry. Introduced to jurors, he briefly stood in his suit and tie and turned their way.
Nearly 50 prospective jurors were sent home and told to return Wednesday, when it was expected that a jury of 12 individuals and six alternates would be in place by late morning so opening statements could begin.
Prosecutors say Bankman-Fried defrauded people and financial institutions who had accounts worth billions of dollars at the cryptocurrency exchange by illegally diverting massive sums of their money for his personal use, including making risky trades at his cryptocurrency hedge fund, Alameda Research. He's also accused of using customer money to buy real estate and make big political contributions to try to influence government regulation of cryptocurrency.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, who is overseeing the prosecution, has called it one of the biggest frauds in the country's history.
Before the first prospective jurors were brought into a Manhattan courtroom, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas Roos said that the government "early on" raised the question with lawyers for Bankman-Fried about whether negotiations aimed at resolving the case with a plea should take place.
"There were no discussions about a plea, and the government never made any plea offers," he said. Mark Cohen, a defence lawyer, agreed.
Judge Lewis A. Kaplan posed nearly 50 questions to the jury pool to ensure that jurors would be fair regardless of what they had heard about the case or whether their life history included experiences with crime, law enforcement, the financial world and cryptocurrency.
A few jurors said they could be fair even though they had lost money through investments in cryptocurrency.
But at least two had doubts. One man said he lost a lot with a cryptocurrency investment, and his twin brother lost so much that "it almost ruined him." A woman said it would be hard to forget during the trial about a friend who killed himself more than a dozen years ago after getting swept up in a Ponzi scheme.
In interviews and social media posts, Bankman-Fried has acknowledged making huge mistakes while running FTX but insisted he had no criminal intent.
He has blamed FTX's collapse last November on vindictive competitors, his own inattentiveness and fellow executives who he said failed to manage risk properly.
"I didn't steal funds, and I certainly didn't stash billions away," he said in a post earlier this year on the online platform Substack.
As recently as early last fall, Bankman-Fried portrayed himself as a stabilizing force in the cryptocurrency industry. He spent millions of dollars on celebrity advertisements during the 2022 Super Bowl that promoted FTX as the "safest and easiest way to buy and sell crypto" and "the most trusted way to buy and sell" digital assets.
Comedian Larry David, along with other celebrities such as football star Tom Brady and basketball star Stephen Curry, have been named in a lawsuit that argued their celebrity status made them culpable for promoting the firm's failed business model.
Bankman-Fried is charged with wire fraud and conspiracy. The trial is expected to end before Thanksgiving.
He agreed to be extradited to the United States after his arrest in the Bahamas last December. That was weeks after FTX collapsed in something equivalent to an old-fashioned bank run. Customers pulled deposits en masse amid reports questioning its financial arrangements.
While his plane to the U.S. was in the air, authorities announced that two of his top executives had secretly pleaded guilty to fraud charges and were prepared to testify against him. They were Bankman-Fried's former girlfriend Carolyn Ellison, who had been the chief executive of Alameda Research, and Gary Wang, who co-founded FTX.
Initially freed on a US$250 million personal recognizance bond, Bankman-Fried was confined to his parents' home in Palo Alto, Calif., until Kaplan ordered him jailed last month after concluding that he had tried to influence witnesses, including Ellison and an FTX general counsel.
His lawyers have appealed that decision and repeatedly said their client can't properly prepare for trial. But the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan rejected an appeal of the detention order, finding that relevant factors had been thoroughly considered and that defence arguments were unpersuasive.
On Tuesday, before jury selection began, the judge told Bankman-Fried that he will be given the chance to testify during the trial, even if his lawyers advise against it.
"They can't make the decision for you. It's your call," the judge said.
YOUR FINANCES

Here's how much more your Christmas dinner will cost this year
Celebrating with your family this December could come with increased expenses as data shows many traditional holiday foods are going up in price.

Canadians increasingly turning to charities to meet essential needs, but cost of living also hitting donations
Every Giving Tuesday, many Canadians generously dig into their wallets to donate to charities, but as the cost of living climbs, research suggests many Canadians are also in need of help.

What is the grocery code of conduct, and will it help to lower the cost of food?
Canada's grocery code of conduct is in the final stages with advocates saying it would help lower food prices while big grocers say it won't.
Poor Inuit housing 'direct result of colonialism': federal housing advocate
A federal housing advocate is accusing every level of government in Canada of failing to uphold the Inuit's right to housing -- and therefore denying their human rights.
Having financial problems? Don't get caught in debt relief scams
With inflation, rising interest rates, and higher costs for gas, groceries and housing, many Canadians are feeling the financial pinch and now personal bankruptcies are on the rise.
Do you tip at a restaurant like Chipotle? Here’s what a survey found
But the majority of Americans say they tip 15 per cent or less for a typical meal at a sit-down restaurant, according to a wide-ranging new poll on tipping attitudes from Pew Research Center. The poll surveyed nearly 12,000 people.
Loblaw raises the affordability alarm as grocery code of conduct nears completion
As the grocery code of conduct nears completion, the Canadian industry's biggest player is raising concerns the guidelines could add fuel to the food inflation fire.
Here's how much it costs to raise children in Canada, according to new statistics
A new report from Statistics Canada estimates how much parents will spend on children over the course of their lifetime.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories

BREAKING Time magazine names Taylor Swift 'Person of the Year' for 2023
Taylor Swift has dominated music charts, broken records and is performing in what is likely to be the highest-grossing tour ever -- and she's now named Time's 'Person of the Year.'
Pass federal gun bill without delay, shooting victim's father urges on anniversary of mass killing
The father of a woman who was fatally shot in October by her former partner is urging senators to pass a federal gun-control bill without delay.
Senators were intimidated, had their privilege breached, Speaker rules
Any attempt to intimidate a senator while in the process of fulfilling their duties is a breach of their privilege, even if the effort is ultimately unsuccessful, the Speaker of the Senate ruled Tuesday.
Here is Canada's unseasonably mild December forecast
December is predicted to be unseasonably mild across Canada, thanks to a "moderate-to-strong" El Nino and human-caused warming. Warming and precipitation trends will be stronger in some parts of the country than others, and severe weather is still possible, meteorologists say.
DEVELOPING Bank of Canada to announce interest rate decision today
The Bank of Canada is set to announce its interest rate decision this morning as forecasters widely expect the central bank to continue holding its key rate steady.
Two Canadian citizens confirmed dead in Antigua: Global Affairs
Global Affairs Canada has confirmed the death of two Canadian citizens in Antigua and Barbuda, news that comes amid reports from local officials that a woman and child drowned last week at Devil’s Bridge.
Nearly 3 in 10 Canadians have at least one disability: StatCan
The number of Canadians with at least one disability has doubled in 10 years, a reality that should push governments to help reduce barriers to accessibility, says the head of a human rights organization.
Most Canadians want more federal spending on health care, housing: poll
A majority of Canadians think the federal government should spend more on health care, a housing strategy and initiatives to ease inflation and cost-of-living issues, a new poll suggests - but they also want it to freeze or reduce other spending.
A rare look inside the FBI seizure of a lawmaker's phone
Just how hard did some Republican members of Congress work to keep President Donald Trump in office after his 2020 election loss? A court case is providing a few tantalizing clues.