Late Night Legend David Letterman Passed Over for Jury in Crypto Fraud Trial

Tv icon David Letterman, former host of “The Late Present,” appeared Monday in a Manhattan federal court docket as a possible juror in a felony case involving cryptocurrency fraud.

In keeping with one ABC Information reportLetterman was recognized in court docket solely as “Juror 16” and underwent the usual juror questioning course of together with about three dozen different potential jurors. The intention of the choice was to assemble a panel of twelve jurors and 4 alternates for the upcoming trial.

Through the proceedings, Decide P. Kevin Castel requested Letterman a collection of inquiries to assess his suitability for the jury. Letterman initially responded with “Hartford” — in Connecticut, exterior the court docket’s jurisdiction — when requested about his hometown. He rapidly clarified it was a joke, the report stated.

The interplay continued with questions on his career, to which Letterman responded that he was “presently working for a corporation referred to as Netflix.” He additionally shared private particulars, mentioning that his 20-year-old son attended school in Massachusetts and his pursuits in sports activities and out of doors actions.

“Ever referred to as to function a juror?” the decide requested. ‘I have been referred to as many instances. I simply could not make it occur,” Letterman responded. Decide Castel commented, “You understand, this is likely to be the allure,” noting that Letterman had a 50-50 probability of being chosen.

Regardless of going by means of the choice course of, Letterman was in the end fired when the prosecutor executed a peremptory strike. This enables attorneys to take away a sure variety of potential jurors with out rationalization.

Though no particular particulars are recognized concerning the case in query, fraud within the crypto world has solely elevated lately. A latest FBI report indicated that crypto was concerned in a document 87% of all funding fraud losses in 2023, totaling $3.96 billion. That is a pointy enhance from the $3.3 billion in 2022, and a staggering 18-fold enhance from the $253 million misplaced in 2018.

Edited by Andrew Hayward