Bankman-Fried loses bid to toss criminal charges over FTX’s collapse

A US judge on Tuesday denied Sam Bankman-Fried’s bid to have criminal charges against him thrown out, paving the way for the founder of now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX to face trial starting Oct. 2.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan say Bankman-Fried, 31, stole billions of dollars in FTX customer funds to plug losses at his hedge fund, Alameda Research, misled investors and lenders, and illegally made contributions to US political campaigns in the names of his colleagues.

The onetime billionaire has pleaded not guilty. He has acknowledged inadequate risk management at FTX, but denies stealing funds.