Author Michael Lewis is pushing back against critics who accuse him of being overly sympathetic to crypto tycoon Sam Bankman-Fried in his latest book.
In an interview with ABC News on Wednesday, Lewis contends that these criticisms are misguided, stating “I think they’re crazy.”
“There are two sides to this story — the defense’s perspective and the prosecution’s,” Lewis said. “I present a completely different narrative with other elements not discussed by either side.”
Lewis compared the reaction to the downfall of FTX, Bankman-Fried’s crypto enterprise, to a “lynch mob mentality.” He also criticized the hasty judgements made following the collapse of the company.
While writing the book about the former FTX CEO, Lewis met with Bankman-Fried over a hundred times in two years. He has, however, refrained from commenting on whether he believes Bankman-Fried knowingly committed fraud, preferring to leave that judgement to his readers.
Lewis’s book, “Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon,” was released on the same day Bankman-Fried’s fraud trial began. Bankman-Fried faces several charges, including fraud and conspiracy relating to FTX’s collapse. The former CEO has pleaded not guilty.
FTX, valued at $32 billion in early 2022, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November the same year after a week-long liquidity crisis.
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