After deliberating for only a few hours, a jury has found Sam Bankman-Fried guilty on all seven criminal charges against him related to the failure of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange. He now faces a maximum sentence of 115 years in jail.
Bankman-Fried, age 31, was convicted of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The FTX cryptocurrency exchange collapsed into bankruptcy in November 2022, losing $8 billion U.S. of client funds in the process.
Prosecutors subsequently charged Bankman-Fried, who founded FTX and its sister hedge fund Alameda Research, with fraud and securities violations.
Bankman-Fried had pleaded not guilty to all charges and took the stand in his own defence at trial.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a written statement after the conviction, saying: “Sam Bankman-Fried thought that he was above the law. Today’s verdict proves he was wrong.”
The trial began in early October and lasted about a month. The jury returned a quick verdict after receiving the case at 3:15 p.m. and breaking for dinner at 6 p.m. on Nov. 2.
The central question for jurors to consider was whether Bankman-Fried acted with criminal intent in taking customer’s money from the FTX exchange and using it for personal ventures such as real estate and political donations.
Bankman-Fried is scheduled to be sentenced on March 28, 2024. Already in custody, he faces up to 115 years in prison.
