Sam Bankman-Fried pleads not guilty in FTX fraud case; October trial set

He entered his plea in federal court in Manhattan, where he is accused of eight crimes, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. The 30-year-old ex-mogul is accused of using the deposits from FTX customers to finance his hedge firm Alameda Research, purchase real estate, and make millions of dollars in political donations.

Federal prosecutor Danielle Sassoon said at the court that "customer monies were also utilized and laundered via political contributions, charity gifts, and a variety of venture ventures."

Sassoon said that the prosecution would provide the defense with hundreds of thousands of papers in the next weeks, indicating that the government has a substantial amount of evidence against Bankman-Fried.

A trial date of Oct. 2 was set by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan on Tuesday. According to Sassoon, the trial might take four weeks.

Two former key colleagues of Bankman- Fried's, former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison and former FTX Chief Technology Officer Gary Wang, who are collaborating with prosecutors and might testify at trial, have already entered guilty pleas on behalf of the government.

In stark contrast to the shorts and t-shirts that were his favoured clothing while he managed FTX from the Bahamas, a clean-shaven Bankman-Fried entered the courtroom wearing a blue suit, a white shirt, and a blue tie with dotted blue accents. He also carried a bag.

During the hearing, Bankman-Fried spoke with his attorneys in private rather than the judge. Before the arraignment, he shook hands with a prosecutor. He addressed the few courtroom sketch artists after it was over and offered some feedback on their work.

If found guilty, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumnus could spend up to 115 years behind bars. He has already admitted to making errors while working for FTX but has maintained that he is not guilty of any crimes.