Sam Bankman-Fried ‘lied to the world’ as he built crypto empire, prosecutors say

The case, which the government has labeled one of the biggest financial crimes in the country’s history, will explore how an awkward 20-something from California came to run and allegedly ruin one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world. — Photo by Ed JONES/AFP

Sam Bankman-Fried lied to the world as he built his cryptocurrency empire at FTX, telling only his friends and girlfriend the truth about what was happening, prosecutors said on the first day of a historic fraud trial.

Nathan Rehn, an assistant US attorney, painted a picture of the 31-year-old as a calculated criminal who used investor deposits at FTX as a personal bank account before the company collapsed into bankruptcy a year ago. He said that only Bankman-Fried’s small inner circle knew that he was taking customer money to fund his lifestyle.