NEW YORK (AP) — Sam Bankman-Fried's trial on charges that he defrauded thousands of customers and investors in his FTX digital coin exchange has begun.
Jury selection started Tuesday morning after a prosecutor revealed that the 31-year-old crypto executive was not offered any plea deals, and there were no discussions about a possible plea since his arrest last December.
The trial is expected to last up to six weeks. Prosecutors say he cheated FTX exchange customers by illegally diverting massive sums of their money for his personal use, including making risky trades at his cryptocurrency hedge fund.
Bankman-Fried says he had no criminal intent with his business decisions.
