KEY POINTS
- Mills said SBF is the "the worst person I've ever seen do a cross-examination"
- Mills is a friend of Bankman-Fried's parents
- He oversaw Bankman-Fried's high-profile fraud trial and worked pro bono
Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced co-founder and former CEO of FTX, has been through a lot since his crypto businesses collapsed, which impacted the broader cryptocurrency industry in a lot of ways. Now, a close family friend who oversaw his legal defense has labeled his case "almost impossible to win" and called Bankman-Fried the "worst witness."
In an interview, David Mills, the Stanford University law professor who oversaw Bankman-Fried's defense in the crypto mogul's high-profile fraud trial, admitted that the case is "almost impossible to win." He claimed his friendship with the former FTX CEO's parents may not survive the case.
Mills, who specializes in criminal law and white-collar crimes, worked on the case pro bono because of his friendship with Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, who were both Stanford University professors.
Mills said it's almost impossible to win the case, especially given the robust lineup of witnesses the prosecutors have prepared, which include Bankman-Fried's ex-lover and former CEO of Alameda Research, Caroline Ellison, and two former executives of his crypto businesses, Nishad Singh and Gary Wang.
"I thought it was almost impossible to win a case when three or four founders are all saying you did it. Even if they're all lying through their teeth, it's really, really hard to win a case like that," Mills said.
The Stanford University law professor still thinks Bankman-Fried is innocent because "he didn't form the intent to do anything wrong."
However, Mills claimed the former crypto mogul is a problematic witness, particularly during cross-examinations, as he disregarded the strategies of his legal counsel in terms of addressing questions.
The 76-year-old legal expert also disclosed how Bankman-Fried made things all the more challenging when he went off the script during his testimony, eventually making his case "unwinnable."
"He may be at the very top of the list as the worst person I've ever seen do a cross-examination," Mills said.
As a seasoned legal expert, Mills has won thousands of cases in his career. He has helped 3,419 people get out of jail.
Mills, during the interview, seemingly hinted that he will not handle anything FTX-related or cases similar to it ever again.
"I'm not going to get myself emotionally involved on a very deep personal level in a case like this again," Mills said. "I'm just not going to do it."
