Sam Bankman-Fried escapes second federal trial

The second federal trial against Sam Bankman-Fried in the cryptocurrency fraud case will not be necessary and will not take place. The prosecution requested this from federal Judge Kaplan, alleging that in the second trial elements from the first trial would be duplicated.

Along with this, the problem of time is added. The prosecution estimated that a second trial would delay the sentence against Bankman-Fried and leave the deadline for reparation payments to victims of fraud. Bankman-Fried, defrauded investors and customers out of nearly $10 billion through a digital currency scam. He was found guilty this November, but his sentence is still pending. He faces a possible stay in prison of several years.

The sentence relates to a total of seven federal charges for economic crimes. Throughout the trial against Bankman-Fried, the prosecution dropped some of the charges. Nevertheless, evidence was recorded in relation to these charges. Authorities in the Bahamas, where Bankman-Fried operated, also filed new charges.

Prosecutors assured CBS that additional charges against the young crypto guru would not result in a longer prison sentence for Bankman-Fried.