SBF attorneys make last minute request to enter new evidence

Bankman-Fried’s attorneys are once again vying for an angle with judge Kaplan

article-image

Artwork by Crystal Le

share

Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial continues in Manhattan Tuesday morning after his defense team submitted an eleventh-hour plea to bring new evidence before the court. 

Bankman-Fried’s attorneys submitted a motion to the court late Monday night asking for permission to cross-examine government witness Gary Wang about how attorneys were involved in structuring and issuing loans from Alameda. 

Wang, who pleaded guilty in December 2022 to four counts of fraud and conspiracy, was a founder and former executive at FTX. He testified on Friday that he received personal loans of around $200 to $300 million from Alameda, which he used to fund venture capital investments and purchase property in the Bahamas. 

Because Wang told the prosecution that “a round of lawyers at the company” may have presented the loans to him in either 2019 or 2020, the defense is asking the court’s permission to pursue this line of questioning. 

“The Government’s direct examination of Mr. Wang has already elicited that FTX attorneys were present and involved in structuring and executing the loans, and that Mr. Bankman-Fried was aware of their involvement,” Bankman-Fried attorneys Mark Cohen and Chrisitian Everdell wrote in their Monday evening motion. “Accordingly, the defense seeks to crossexamine Mr. Wang further about his knowledge of the lawyers’ involvement.” 

Southern District of New York senior judge Lewis Kaplan is expected to rule on the motion Tuesday morning before cross-examination on Wang resumes. Kaplan has so far expressed growing frustration with the defense’s “repetitive” nature of questioning and attorneys’ tendency to make these late-night motions. 

“Anything else we can usefully accomplish tonight? Am I going to be expecting another midnight filing?” Kaplan asked counsel last week.

Alameda Research’s FTX account was granted secret permission to “allow negative,” meaning it could trade even with no balance, Wang added in his testimony last week.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates.jpg

Research

Figure, founded by former SoFi CEO Mike Cagney, has emerged as a leader in onchain RWAs, with ~$17.5B publicly tokenized. The platform’s ecosystem volume is growing ~40% YoY as it expands beyond HELOCs into student loans, DSCR loans, unsecured loans, bankruptcy claims, and more. Operationally, Figure cuts average loan production cost by ~93% and compresses median funding time from ~42 days to ~10, creating a durable speed-and-cost advantage.

article-image

Former White House crypto official Bo Hines is expected to be the CEO of the new project

article-image

In bonds, stablecoins and billionaires, a reminder of what makes crypto special

article-image

21Shares exec says CPI and PPI data supports a Fed rate cut, with market leaning toward a 25bps decrease

article-image

The Ethereum co-founder suggested LINEA holders would be eligible for other airdrops in cryptic tweet

article-image

The layer-2’s biggest release yet brings benefits — but a post-upgrade outage caused a chain reorg

article-image

Crypto is shifting into risk-on mode — pump.fun dominates meme activity, while Lido leans on treasury maneuvers