Prosecutors say Sam Bankman-Fried’s arguments to dismiss cryptocurrency charges are meritless

Federal prosecutors claimed Monday that Sam Bankman-Fried‘s attorneys made meritless arguments in an effort to persuade a court to dismiss criminal allegations that the FTX founder stole from investors in his multibillion dollar cryptocurrency fund.

Prosecutors reacted to early May filings in which Bankman-Fried’s attorneys argued that the government overstepped its bounds in prosecuting Bankman-Fried, turning regulatory issues into criminal offenses.

“These motions are meritless,” prosecutors wrote in a nearly 100-page filing. “The charges track the relevant statutes and the defendant’s alleged misconduct falls within the heartland of what these statutes prohibit.”

Bankman-Fried has entered a not guilty plea to accusations that he defrauded investors and used money taken from client deposits on FTX to buy luxury real estate, give money to politicians, and engage in risky trades at his cryptocurrency hedge fund trading company, Alameda Research. It has been referred to as one of the largest frauds in American history by U.S. Attorney Damian Williams.

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