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Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced co-founder and former CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, pleaded not guilty to eight criminal charges at his arraignment on Tuesday.
Bankman-Fried flew from California to New York to enter his plea in person during a court hearing at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District in Lower Manhattan.
An attorney entered the not guilty plea on his behalf as Bankman-Fried’s mother, a professor at Stanford Law School, sat two rows behind him with other family and friends at the packed courtroom.
The once high-flying crypto executive is facing up to 115 years in prison over charges stemming from the spectacular collapse of FTX in November. The charges include lying to investors and taking billions of dollars of his customers‘ money for his own personal use.
Since Dec. 22, he has been living with his parents in Northern California after posting a bail of $250 million.
Criminal law experts had expected Bankman-Fried to plead not guilty.
„It is common for defendants to do this,“ said Christine Chung, a professor at Albany Law School. „A not guilty plea generally opens the door to the discovery process, which would give Sam Bankman-Fried a better idea of the evidence that the government has collected thus far in its investigation.
