Sam Bankman-Fried to testify in his defense in a high-stakes gamble

Sam Bankman-Fried is accused of defrauding the company’s customers, investors and lenders. He’s set to take the stand on his own defense starting as early as Thursday.

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Ever since Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire collapsed, he has claimed he did nothing wrong.

Now, he will make that case directly to jurors in his criminal trial in a high-stakes gamble to avoid prison time.

It’s a big bet even for a former Wall Street trader who has a reputation for embracing risk. The government has charged Bankman-Fried with seven criminal counts, including fraud, and if he is convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.

But Bankman-Fried’s decision to testify was also not a huge surprise, given how frequently he has tried to defend himself in the court of public opinion — in interviews and social media posts.

How Bankman-Fried has defended himself

Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty, and he has maintained he didn’t intend to defraud FTX customers and commit crimes.

Instead, he has argued from the get-go he was in over his head, and that some of his trusted lieutenants — several of whom testified against him — failed to do their jobs properly.

It’s an argument he’s likely to make on the witness stand during his testimony, which could begin as early as Thursday.

But over the three weeks of trial so far, prosecutors have painted a very different picture of what happened.

Caroline Ellison, a former colleague and…