Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire was ‘built on lies,’ US prosecutor says

In their opening statements to a newly sworn-in jury in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday, lawyers laid out previews of their cases, offering two divergent narratives for the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire.

Assistant US Attorney Thane Rehn painted a picture of a villainous, greedy businessman whose boundless appetite for wealth and power led him to steal billions of dollars in customer funds.

“He had wealth, he had power, he had influence,” Rehn said. “But all of that — all of it — was built on lies.”