Why Did Sam Bankman-Fried Plead Not Guilty?

Further, while crypto-centric observers may see him as some exceptionally influential string-puller in Washington D.C., the truth is that in the grand scheme of political clout, Sam Bankman-Fried is a johnny-come-lately, and a bit of a small fry. Compare him, for instance, to Kenneth Lay, the CEO of Enron. Lay was very close with George W. Bush and other powerful politicians for years, but that didn’t protect him from a 2006 guilty conviction for Enron’s fraud – while his good friend W. was a sitting president.