Ex-crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried convicted of defrauding FTX customers
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty on Thursday of defrauding customers of his now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange in one of the biggest financial frauds on record, a verdict that cemented the 31-year-old former billionaire's fall from grace.
A 12-member jury in Manhattan federal court convicted him on all seven counts he faced after a monthlong trial in which prosecutors made the case that he stole $8 billion from the exchange's customers out of sheer greed. The verdict came just shy of one year after FTX filed for bankruptcy in a swift corporate meltdown that shocked financial markets and erased his estimated $26 billion personal fortune.
The jury reached the verdict after just over four hours of deliberations. Bankman-Fried stood and clasped his hands together as the verdict was read. Bankman-Fried had pleaded not guilty to two counts of fraud and five counts of conspiracy. The conviction represented a victory for the US Justice Department and Damian Williams, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, who made rooting out corruption in financial markets one of his top priorities.
Bankman-Fried, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate whose mother and father both are Stanford University law professors, could face decades in prison when his sentence is determined by US District Judge Lewis Kaplan at a later date. His defence lawyers, who objected to several rulings by Kaplan before and during the trial, are expected to appeal the verdict.
Once the darling of the crypto world, Bankman-Fried - who was known for his mop of unkempt curly hair and for wearing shorts and T-shirts rather than business attire - instead joins the likes of admitted Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff, "Wolf of Wall Street" fraudster Jordan Belfort and insider trader Ivan Boesky as notable people convicted of major US financial crimes.
Reuters
