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Sam Bankman-Fried- Case Archive
Federal Criminal Trialtrial-daytrial-dayDanielle KudlaThane RehnNicolas RoosDanielle R. SassoonMark S. CohenChristian R. EverdellSamuel Bankman-FriedJoseph PimbleyKrystal RolleMarc TroianodirectcrossDay 14 - October 26, 2023The government rested, and the court denied the defense's Rule 29 motion. The defense called Krystal Rolle and Joseph Pimbley before Bankman-Fried testified outside the jury's presence during an admissibility hearing.
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Day 14 - October 26, 2023

Government Rests, Defense Witnesses Testify, and Admissibility Hearing Begins

Judge Lewis A. Kaplan
11Proceedings
7Pages
4Witnesses
2,558Lines
1Sidebars
Day 14 of 19
Appearing:
Danielle Kudla Thane Rehn Nicolas Roos Danielle R. Sassoon Mark S. Cohen Christian R. Everdell Samuel Bankman-Fried Joseph Pimbley Krystal Rolle Marc Troiano

The government rested, and the court denied the defense's Rule 29 motion. The defense called Krystal Rolle and Joseph Pimbley before Bankman-Fried testified outside the jury's presence during an admissibility hearing.

Full day summary

FBI Special Agent Marc Troiano testified about Signal data recovered from Gary Wang's laptop and Caroline Ellison's phone. His chart covered 325 groups involving Bankman-Fried, 288 with auto-deletion enabled, and included a record of Bankman-Fried turning off a one-week setting on November 9, 2022. On cross-examination, Troiano said prosecutors supplied the initial chart and selected its groups, while he verified the information and made factual corrections. After Government Exhibit 505 was admitted, the government rested. Outside the jury's presence, the defense moved for acquittal on all counts under Rule 29, and the court denied the motion. The defense then called Krystal Rolle, who described Bahamian orders directing the transfer of company digital assets to regulator-created wallets, and Joseph Pimbley, who presented database-derived figures concerning Alameda's line of credit and other account balances. Pimbley acknowledged that his work used a single database snapshot and did not include interviews, bank records, asset tracing, or an assessment of Bankman-Fried's knowledge or intent. After releasing the jury, the court heard Bankman-Fried testify about proposed subjects including Signal retention practices, customer deposits, loans, terms of service, and omnibus wallets. Prosecutors questioned whether his stated understandings rested on contemporaneous legal advice. The court reserved its admissibility rulings until the following morning.

1. Alternate-Juror Excusal and Pretrial Matters

Day 14 opened with the excusal of an ill alternate juror, followed by evidentiary and procedural questions before the jury entered. Marc Troiano was sworn, and 20 government exhibits were received without objection.

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Procedural
Alternate-Juror Excusal and Pretrial Matters
22 lines

The court excused an ill alternate juror without objection, deferred pending trial-management issues, and received 20 government exhibits before Marc Troiano's examination.

2. Marc Troiano — Direct/Cross

FBI Special Agent Marc Troiano explained a chart of Signal groups and auto-deletion settings before the defense questioned how prosecutors selected and drafted its contents.

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Direct
Marc Troiano — Direct Marc Troiano Danielle Kudla
112 lines

FBI Special Agent Marc Troiano explained a chart summarizing 325 Signal groups involving Samuel Bankman-Fried, including 288 with auto-deletion enabled, while limiting his analysis to data from Gary Wang's laptop and Caroline Ellison's phone.

Cross
Marc Troiano — Cross Marc Troiano Christian R. Everdell
167 lines

Defense counsel tested the prosecution's role in preparing the Signal summary chart and Troiano's limited knowledge. After striking a misleading question and answer, the court restricted repetitive or out-of-scope questioning, while Troiano confirmed three entries attributed to SBF turning off auto-delete and a one-week setting for the “KYC/legal discuss” group.

1 sidebar inside this proceeding
  1. Signal Group Redactions and Stricken TestimonyCounsel discussed redacted Signal group names and how to correct a potentially misleading impression about why certain groups were removed.

Highlights

Marc Troiano — Directtestimony highlightTroiano testified that the chart covered 325 Signal groups involving Bankman-Fried and that 288 had auto-deletion enabled.

3. Government Rest, Rule 29, and Defense-Case Preparation

The government rested, the court denied the defense's Rule 29 motion, and Day 14 turned to preparation for the defense case before Krystal Rolle was sworn.

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Procedural
Government Rest, Rule 29, and Defense-Case Preparation Krystal Rolle
107 lines

The government rested, the court denied the defense's Rule 29 motion, reviewed redacted materials for Krystal Rolle, and began the defense case with Rolle's testimony.

Highlights

Government Rest, Rule 29, and Defense-Case Preparationprocedural actionThe government rested, and the court told the jury that its evidence presentation had concluded, subject to possible rebuttal.Government Rest, Rule 29, and Defense-Case Preparation“With that, your Honor, the government rests.”— Nicolas RoosMarks the conclusion of the government's case-in-chief.Government Rest, Rule 29, and Defense-Case PreparationrulingThe defense moved under Rule 29 for acquittal on all counts, the government opposed the motion, and the court denied it.

4. Krystal Rolle — Direct/Cross

Krystal Rolle's direct and cross-examination on Day 14 concerned her representation of Bankman-Fried during November 2022 meetings with Bahamian authorities, including directives to transfer company digital assets into Commission-controlled wallets.

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Direct
Krystal Rolle — Direct Krystal Rolle Christian R. Everdell
247 lines

Krystal Rolle described the Bahamian orders directing FTX Digital Markets asset transfers, Bankman-Fried's participation in the transfer process, and his subsequent interactions with regulators and police.

Cross
Krystal Rolle — Cross Krystal Rolle Nicolas Roos
69 lines

Krystal Rolle said she had no firsthand knowledge of FTX customer funds or spending and limited her information to events beginning November 12, 2022.

Highlights

Krystal Rolle — Direct“Well, this is a court order issued by the Supreme Court. Failure to comply has a result of being held in contempt of court and imprisonment.”— Krystal RolleRolle explained her understanding of the consequences Bankman-Fried could have faced for failing to comply with the Bahamian court order.Krystal Rolle — Directtestimony highlightRolle testified that Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang began transferring assets to Commission-created wallets, after which police officers arrived and arrangements were made for later questioning and passport surrender.

5. Joseph Pimbley — Direct/Cross

Defense witness Joseph Pimbley presented FTX database analyses, then acknowledged their limits on cross-examination before the jury was dismissed and an admissibility hearing began.

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Direct
Joseph Pimbley — Direct Joseph Pimbley Christian R. Everdell
270 lines

Defense-retained consultant Joseph Pimbley explained how he extracted and validated FTX database figures underlying three admitted charts concerning Alameda's in-use line of credit and balances held by accounts excluding Alameda and FTX entities.

Cross
Joseph Pimbley — Cross Joseph Pimbley Thane Rehn
447 lines

Pimbley acknowledged that his defense charts were limited database extractions that did not address intent, asset tracing, customer shortfalls, or the significance of counsel-selected account categories; the court then began Bankman-Fried's admissibility hearing outside the jury's presence.

Highlights

Joseph Pimbley — Directtestimony highlightFor the November 2022 snapshot, Pimbley reported about $5.8 billion in the four selected currencies, including $4.54 billion in the specified spot-margin, lending, or futures-activity category, and $8.9 billion across all currencies, including $6.91 billion in that category.Joseph Pimbley — CrossadmissionPimbley acknowledged that he had not interviewed Bankman-Fried, FTX employees, customers, investors, or database developers and could not address Bankman-Fried's knowledge, intent, or use of the queried data.Joseph Pimbley — Cross“Yes, sir, and it's the only snapshot I received in evidence in this case, yes, sir.”— Joseph PimbleyPimbley confirmed that his user-balance charts rested on a single database snapshot rather than a historical series.

6. Samuel Bankman-Fried — Direct/Cross (Part 1)

Samuel Bankman-Fried's direct testimony about FTX policies, customer funds, loans, and legal advice was followed by cross-examination testing whether those asserted understandings had contemporaneous support.

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Direct
Samuel Bankman-Fried — Direct Samuel Bankman-Fried Mark S. Cohen
391 lines

Bankman-Fried said lawyer-developed policies and agreements authorized FTX's auto-delete practices, Alameda payment processing, investment loans, and some exchange borrowing, then recounted Bahamian regulatory meetings and an asset transfer.

Cross
Samuel Bankman-Fried — Cross Samuel Bankman-Fried Danielle R. Sassoon
680 lines

Prosecutors challenged the legal-advice basis for Bankman-Fried's deleted Signal messages, North Dimension payment processing, Alameda's special account treatment, customer-fund borrowing, and loans, prompting repeated qualifications and judicial intervention.

Highlights

Samuel Bankman-Fried — Cross“I don't know that I sought specific approval for that, no.”— Samuel Bankman-FriedBankman-Fried acknowledged that he did not seek specific legal approval before changing his default Signal auto-delete setting.Samuel Bankman-Fried — CrossadmissionBankman-Fried initially said the payment-agent agreement effectively allowed Alameda to hold or transfer funds, but acknowledged that he had no contemporaneous lawyer conversations about exactly what the agreement meant.

7. Advice-of-Counsel Evidentiary Hearing

Defense counsel sought to introduce Samuel Bankman-Fried's consultations with lawyers without asserting a formal advice-of-counsel defense. After hearing disputes over legal documents and omnibus wallets, the court reserved its rulings and adjourned Day 14 until the next morning.

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Procedural
Advice-of-Counsel Evidentiary Hearing
46 lines

The defense sought to present lawyer-consultation and industry-practice evidence without asserting a formal advice-of-counsel defense; the government challenged its relevance, and the court reserved its rulings while flagging a possible instruction about a denied subpoena.

Highlights

Advice-of-Counsel Evidentiary Hearingprocedural actionThe government argued that collateral lawyer involvement and generalized industry-practice testimony had little probative value and risked confusing the jury. After discussing whether omnibus-wallet use was disputed, the court invited the parties to confer and reserved its rulings until morning.
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