Fallen crypto king Sam Bankman-Fried ignored rules like “Don’t lie” and “Don’t steal” because they didn’t fit his “utilitarian” moral code of how to achieve the “greater good,” his ex-girlfriend testified at his fraud trial on Wednesday.
“He said that he’s a utilitarian and he believes that the way people try to justify rules like ‘Don’t lie,’ ‘Don’t steal,’ under utilitarianism doesn’t work,” Caroline Ellison, 28, told jurors. in Manhattan federal court.
Bankman-Fried has been accused of stealing more than $8 billion in user funds held on his crypto exchange FTX to cover losses at his hedge fund Alameda Research.
He tells Ellison, his girlfriend, that “the only moral rule that matters is what maximizes utility” — meaning “whatever generates the greatest good for the greatest number of people.”
The accused liar’s more cavalier attitude toward lying — as long as he can achieve a “utilitarian” goal — makes him more likely to bend the truth, too, he said.
“It made me more willing to do things like lie and steal from time to time,” Ellison admits.
Ellison has pleaded guilty to fraud and has a cooperation agreement with prosecutors.REUTERS
The Stanford-educated mathematician — who served as Alameda’s CEO during FTX’s November 2022 collapse — also testified that he followed Bankman-Fried’s instructions to doctors’ balance sheets sent to lenders that concealed Alameda’s billions of dollars’ dip into FTX users’ wallets .
“I really don’t want to be dishonest, but I also don’t want them to know the truth,” Ellison said of the fake file sent to crypto lending firm Genesis.
Genesis had been a big investor in Alameda, and at the time was considering whether to withdraw $500 million of its funds held with the Bankman-Fried company. Alameda, Genesis and FTX all later declared bankruptcy.
Bankman-Fried ignores rules like “Thou shalt not lie” because all he cares about is his “utilitarian” moral code, Ellison said.Bloomberg via Getty Images
Ellison has already told the jury directly that the crypto titan will be blamed for deciding to steal the funds. He also broke down in tears Wednesday as he recounted how he felt when the truth about Alameda’s use of FTX user funds to cover his losses came to light — during what he called “the worst week of my life.”
“I feel relieved that I don’t have to lie anymore and can take responsibility for what I did,” Ellison testified, looking down at the witness table.
The fallen crypto titan’s parents, Stanford Law professors Barbara Fried and Joseph Bankman, attended his hearing.REUTERS
Prosecutors also revealed that Ellison responded with a sad face emoji after learning, via group text with Bankman-Fried and FTX’s head of engineering, Nishad Singh, that clients were withdrawing funds at a rate of $120 million an hour.
“Oof,” Bankman-Fried replied after Ellison sent her sad face, trial exhibits show.
Ellison will be cross-examined by Bankman-Fried’s attorneys on Thursday.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
