FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted Thursday on all seven counts in his fraud trial in which he stood accused of stealing billions of dollars from customers of his cryptocurrency exchange.
He was found guilty by a New York federal jury. The trial is the first of two concerning the collapse of FTX, a once-powerful trading platform that was exposed for fraudulent practices.
Last fall, the cryptocurrency exchange crashed and burned suddenly when news of the fraud began to circulate. Bankman-Friend was indicted in December 2022 and reluctantly descended from his Bahama mansion to face the myriad charges.
(RELATED: FTX Sues Sam Bankman-Fried’s Parents for Millions in ‘Misappropriated Funds’)
FTX, founded by Bankman-Fried in 2019, had become the home of millions of investors with about $1 billion annual revenue by 2021. Its death sentence was delivered when crypto site CoinDesk leaked a balance sheet from Bankman-Fried’s sister hedge fund Alameda Research in Nov. 2022, which triggered a run on FTX’s accounts.
A look back at the rise and fall of 'crypto king' Sam Bankman-Fried, who was convicted of multi-billion dollar fraud https://t.co/QdPEhuFOQ2 pic.twitter.com/HSphJgdZoL
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 3, 2023
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His sentencing date has been set for March 28, 2024. It is possible he will receive a ten-year prison sentence.
“We respect the jury’s decision. But we are very disappointed with the result,” Bankman-Fried’s lawyer Mark Cohen stated. “Mr. Bankman-Fried maintains his innocence and will continue to vigorously fight the charges against him.”
Cohen and the rest of his legal team defended Bankman-Fried as a whiz-kid and entrepreneur trying to build a business in an uncharted industry as best as he could. “In the real world, unlike the movie world, things can get messy,” Cohen argued before the jury.
(Ex-Girlfriend Testifies Against FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried)
The case was initially put forward by federal prosecutors, who procured 18 witnesses in support of their charges that Bankman-Fried had concocted a scheme to covertly use FTX as an unlimited fund for Alameda.
With that money, Bankman-Fried conducted risky investments, bought properties, and bankrolled the campaigns of primarily Democratic politicians as well as nonprofit groups and political action committees (PACs). He was ranked the second biggest donor to the Democrats behind billionaire financier George Soros, spending over $70 million on election campaigns in the 2022 election cycle alone.
Toward the end of the trial, Bankman-Fried decided to testify in his own defense.
“While the cryptocurrency industry might be new, and the players like Sam Bankman-Fried might be new, this kind of corruption is as old as time,” said Manhattan federal attorney Damian William. “This case has always been about lying, cheating and stealing, and we have no patience for it.”
Bankman-Fried has other charges against him that could see him go to trial in March, which include accusations of bank fraud and bribery conspiracies. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan instructed prosecutors to inform him by February if they intend to proceed with said charges.
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