As the beginning date of the trial of FTX co-founder Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried approaches, new courtroom filings point out that SBF could pay his expert witnesses greater than $1,000 an hour ought to they testify on his behalf.
SBF could name seven expert witnesses to testify at his fraud trial, which is at present scheduled for Oct. 2, 2023. The proposed expert witnesses embody Lawrence Akka, Thomas Bishop, Brian Kim, Joseph Pimbley, Bradley Smith, Peter Vinella and Andrew Di Wu.
A few of the witnesses, comparable to former Federal Election Fee Chairperson Bradley Smith, will charge SBF’s authorized group $1,200 an hour to testify about points comparable to america’ marketing campaign finance legal guidelines and straw donors, in accordance to a courtroom submitting on Aug. 28.
“I’ve no monetary curiosity within the end result of this case. I’m being compensated for my time and companies on an hourly foundation on the billing fee of $1,200 per hour,” Smith stated within the submitting. The doc added:
“My compensation on this case shouldn’t be in any method contingent or primarily based on the opinions introduced herein or on the result of those authorized proceedings.”
Different expert witnesses, together with Akka and Pimbley, could charge 800 British kilos ($1,000) and $720 per hour, respectively, ought to they testify, according to the courtroom filings. Different hourly charges for SBF’s potential expert witnesses vary between $400 and $650.
Then again, Peter Easton, an accounting professor on the College of Notre Dame, who’s a proposed witness for the prosecution, will cost $1,175 per hour, the courtroom information shows.
The above-mentioned courtroom filings got here as a part of a movement by the U.S. Division of Justice (DOJ) to ban all seven expert witnesses from testifying for SBF in courtroom.
The DOJ argued that Bankman-Fried’s proposed consultants and their accompanying disclosures “undergo from an array of deficiencies” and fail to present a foundation for the opinions.
Associated: DOJ calls SBF’s fraud allegation defense ‘irrelevant,’ requests additional info
“The place the defendant does disclose the expert’s opinions, the opinions are inappropriate topics for expert testimony, lack a dependable methodology or foundation in details and information, or are irrelevant, unfairly prejudicial, and complicated to the jury,” the authority wrote.
The information comes amid the final deadline for SBF to request a postponement of the trial. If the request is filed by Sept. 1 and accepted, SBF’s trial shall be moved to March 11, 2024.
Bankman-Fried faces 12 felony fees, which shall be unfold throughout two trials scheduled to start on Oct. 2, 2023, and March 11, 2024. He has pleaded not guilty to all counts.
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