A former FTX customer testified that an advertisement featuring retired football star Tom Brady led him to invest thousands of dollars in the company, the Daily Mail reported.
Speaking at the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, the now-defunct company's founder, French broker Marc-Antoine Julliard said the ad gave him the false "impression" that it had "strong financials" behind it.
Julliard, who eventually lost as much as $100,000, also said he was impressed to see Bankman-Fried at events beside former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and former President Bill Clinton.
The broker based in London was the first witness for the prosecution in the case against Bankman-Fried, who is accused of money laundering and campaign finance law violations.
Bankman-Fried was responsible for turning FTX into one of the wealthiest cryptocurrency exchange companies in the world, reaching over $1 billion in revenue before its meteoric collapse.
Prosecutors have claimed the 31-year-old orchestrated a conspiracy to use $10 billion in money FTX customers entrusted him with for a number of personal pet projects.
Mark Cohen, Bankman-Fried's lawyer, defended his client.
"It's not a crime to run a business in good faith that ends up going through a storm," Cohen said, arguing that he was made out to be a "cartoon of a villain."
FTX declared bankruptcy last November, at which point Bankman-Fried resigned and said his wealth had dropped from $20 billion to about $100,000.
Luca Cacciatore ✉
Luca Cacciatore, a Newsmax general assignment writer, is based in Arlington, Virginia, reporting on news and politics.
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