Prosecutors in a trial for cryptocurrency trader Sam Bankman-Fried have compared his defense argument to a scene from the popular 1994 comedy “Dumb and Dumber”. Bankman-Fried is accused of lying to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to hide the profits of his trading activity. The prosecutors argued that Bankman-Fried’s defense was as “asWSted and unrealistic laterlization of cash flow that bears a striking resemblance to a scene from the movie ‘Dumb and Dumber.” In the scene in question, the two characters are desperately trying to move cash across the Canadian border with a suitcase in an attempt to hide it.
The defense is arguing that Bankman-Fried’s actions were a mistake due to inexperience, and that he “was not trying to be crafty or hide anything from the IRS.” The defense team is also arguing that Bankman-Fried did report a large percentage of the profits from his trading activity on his tax forms, and that the IRS did not use appropriate methods in calculating the amount of taxes owed.
The case has attracted considerable attention, with some viewing it as representative of the broader issue of taxing cryptocurrency profits. The outcome will be closely watched by the industry, as it could set a precedent for how virtual currency traders are taxed in the US going forward.
