Behind SBF: A Tale of a Courtroom Sketch

First, let's remember some basic circumstances. In several U.S. states, it's prohibited to take photos or videos during court hearings. There are two main reasons for this: protecting individuals' privacy and respecting tradition. Many attendees prefer not to have their faces appear in the media. Additionally, photographers often cause distractions during legal proceedings and add to the overall tension. While early cameras were bulky and their flashes too bright, modern photographers can be overly active in their pursuit of the perfect shot. As a result, today's media often relies on illustrations by courtroom artists, a practice that dates back centuries. For example, in the USA, courtroom sketches have a history dating back to the 17th-century Salem witch trials. 

In March 2024, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the former head of FTX, appeared before the Southern District of New York court and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. With a limit of twenty spectators in the courtroom, our protagonist, John Wang, arrived at the scene at 4 AM to secure a seat. Remaining till the verdict was delivered, John was thrilled yet astonished to see himself depicted alongside SBF in the courtroom sketch.

I attended the SBF trial. It was one of the most mind-blowing experiences of my life. Seeing him get a 25 year sentence today is as surreal as it felt sitting right behind him in that courtroom. Here’s my story of that day,

Wang reflects.

John credits SBF as his initial inspiration for diving into the Solana ecosystem and later founding his DeFi lending startup, Armor Labs, which he eventually sold to the TN | Pendle project team. Currently, John is deeply engaged in hacking and research.

To John, Sam is more than a dethroned crypto monarch; he's an idol from his younger years. Upon entering the small courtroom, Wang greeted Sam's parents, who were seated nearby. He recounts the peculiar feeling that everyone in the room—from casual onlookers to the courtroom artists and journalists—viewed SBF as if he were a spectacle. Yet John aimed to personally ascertain whether FTX's downfall was a result of Sam's negligence or criminal plotting.

But sitting in the front row, all I saw before me was a meek, clenched, pale man — smaller in stature than I expected. We briefly made eye contact before his eyes darted away and he lowered his head,

John recalls.

Sam was visibly distressed. In a plea for leniency, his lawyer requested the judge provide Sam with Adderall, a medication containing amphetamine salts commonly prescribed for ADHD and narcolepsy and sometimes used for enhancing cognitive performance or as sports doping, albeit banned in some jurisdictions due to its side effects.

His lawyer pleaded the judge for adderall to stop SBF from shaking. The judge replied “I can’t be having lawyers coming in and feeding drugs to people on trial”, stirring up laughter among the journalists and furious head-shaking from SBF’s mom,

shares Wang.

Emotions ran high, not just for Sam and his parents. John notes that Nishad Singh, a major FTX shareholder who had cooperated with the FBI, broke down in tears while testifying. “I participated in money laundering, defrauded customers and doctored financials to investors,” he admitted. 

I’ve always been intimidated by Sam… [He] has physical twitches when he gets angry, grinding his fingers, closing his eyes, and grinding his teeth or tongue in his mouth… I was suicidal.

SBF's parents squinted their eyes, pursed their lips, and coughed in protest,

John quotes Singh's words, reflecting on Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried's reaction.

John likened the jurors to NPCs, seemingly randomly selected from the city's populace. All appeared aged, none younger than forty; the majority faced obesity issues; and some even arrived without a notebook.

As the trial progressed, lawyers found themselves explaining every cryptocurrency term.

When I was your age, mining was about getting rocks,

Wang quotes the judge with apparent disapproval.

Yet, John views the court's decision as entirely justified. The prosecution convinced him of Curly Sam's deliberate actions to bankrupt FTX. The revelations that struck Wang the most included:

• SBF's unilateral control over the mixing of funds between FTX and Alameda, and his personal stakes in both entities.

• SBF's lavish spending spree just before FTX's downfall.

• SBF's deliberate overstatement of revenues to deceive investors.

• SBF's lack of hands-on coding, focusing instead on designing FTX's technical and financial infrastructure — something that particularly irked John.

Overall, massive fraud and no sense of bank accounts, employees, cash on hand, liquidity management, digital asset custody, cybersecurity practices, or any form of corporate control or governance,

Wang summarizes.

John believes the antidote to fraudsters like Curly Sam lies in DeFi. “Build trustless systems where accounting is open, transparent, and verifiable by external parties,” Wang concludes.