Prosecutors on Monday asked a Manhattan federal court judge to deny FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried's request to dismiss criminal charges stemming from allegations he stole billions of dollars from his company's customers to make up for losses at his hedge fund.
Bankman-Fried, 31, has pleaded not guilty to 13 counts of fraud, conspiracy, making illegal campaign contributions and foreign bribery.
Earlier this month, he urged U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan to dismiss 10 of the charges, with his lawyers arguing that several cryptocurrency companies, including his own Alameda Research, went bankrupt last year and that prosecutors rushed to judgment.
In a filing on Monday, prosecutors said motions to dismiss the charges were "meritless," pushing back on Bankman-Fried's claims that the allegations outlined in his indictment were insufficient and legally defective, Reuters reported.
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"The Indictment sufficiently alleges that the defendant and his co-conspirators made false and misleading representations to lenders relating to Alameda's financial condition. No more specificity is required," prosecutors wrote.
The judge will hear oral arguments on June 15.
Bankman-Fried previously admitted that FTX's risk management was inadequate, but denied accusations he stole funds. Hr has also tried to distance himself from the fall of Alameda, the crypto-focused hedge fund he owned.
The company's former chief executive, Caroline Ellison, pleaded guilty to fraud charges in December as part of an agreement with prosecutors.
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The FTX founder has also argued that some of the fraud charges he faces were based on the "right to control" theory invalidated by the U.S. Supreme Court on May 11, according to Reuters. The theory, described as "inconsistent" by the SCOTUS, focuses on depriving a victim of economically-valuable information instead of tangible property.
Legal experts said it is unlikely Bankman-Fried's charges will be tossed since prosecutors can point to the money his customers lost.
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Bankman-Fried capitalized on a boom in bitcoin and other digital assets to accumulate an estimated net worth of $26 billion, leading him to become an influential political and philanthropic donor before FTX declared bankruptcy in November.
He has largely been confined to his parents' home in California since he was extradited from the Bahamas in December. His trial is scheduled for October 2.
Reuters contributed to this report.
