It was another bad day in court for Sam Bankman-Fried on Tuesday, as a turncoat prosecution witness took the stand and testified about “heinously criminal” activity at the crypto exchange FTX.
The damage was done as Bankman-Fried’s own lawyer cross-examined Nishad Singh, a former FTX executive who was once close friends with Bankman-Fried’s little brother.
Singh told jurors he had considered resigning from the company over FTX’s alleged decision to let Bankman-Fried’s trading firm, Alameda Research, pilfer customer deposits in order to fund risky investments and pay off loans.
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“The scale of wrongdoing was enormous,” Singh testified.
Singh’s hands weren’t clean either. Around October 2022, Singh paid $3.7 million for a home on Orcas Island in Washington State using funds from FTX—even though he knew its customers were at risk of losing their money. He conceded in court that the purchase was “egregious, unnecessary, and selfish” and said he agreed to forfeit the property as a small gesture of restitution.
Singh pleaded guilty to six counts in February, including conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit securities fraud. He said he is hoping for a lenient sentence in light of his cooperation with prosecutors.
Bankman-Fried, meanwhile, faces seven counts in this trial; five others were severed before the proceedings due to complications related to his extradition from the Bahamas, but he could be tried on those charges next year.
Singh also discussed his discomfort with Bankman-Fried’s lavish spending, saying he contemplated moving out of their shared Bahamas penthouse multiple times. (He didn’t.) He said he consulted with lawyers—Bankman-Fried’s dad, Joseph, among them—about massive loans he received from the company. And he recalled strategizing with Bankman-Fried’s mother, Barbara, about political spending. (Singh pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations for allegedly participating in a straw-donor scheme alongside Bankman-Fried and Ryan Salame, another former FTX exec; Bankman-Fried’s mother has not been charged with any crimes.)
Prior to becoming head of engineering at FTX, Singh spent two years at Alameda Research. At one point during the business’ ascent, he was a billionaire, he testified, and he distributed millions of dollars to his friends and family, bringing them along for the luxury ride.
After FTX collapsed in November 2022, Singh said he contemplated suicide for months. He appeared poised in court this week, if verbose and nerdy. As he scuttled out of the courtroom on Tuesday afternoon, he made eye contact with no one, least of all his former boss.
