The co-founder and former CEO of crypto exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, was on Thursday, November 2, found guilty on all seven counts related to fr@ud and money laundering.
Bankman-Fried, who also owned a trading firm called Alameda Research, was charged with misappropriating billions of dollars of customer funds, among others, about a year ago, few weeks after both companies filed for bankruptcy.
A 12-member jury in Manhattan federal court, USA, convicted the 31-year-old former billionaire on all seven counts he faced after a five-week trial in which prosecutors made the case that he looted $8 billion from the exchange’s users out of sheer gr££d, according to Reuters.
The jury took about four hours to come to a verdict on six counts relating to fr@ud and one count relating to money laundering.
Bankman-Fried was said to had st%le over $8 billion in customer funds. It would be recalled that trouble began after a faulty Alameda balance sheet was unveiled by CoinDesk in November 2022.
In his trial, Bankman-Fried testified that he didn’t defr@ud FTX customers or take their funds, but that Alameda “borrowed” money from the exchange.
Prosecutors argued Bankman-Fried made false promises and was responsible for the loss of billions of dollars for thousands of investors on FTX. They also argued he had many opportunities to come clean, but instead doubled down.
The DOJ’s December 2022 indictment stated Bankman-Fried knowingly defr@uded FTX customers by misusing their deposits to invest in other companies and pay off lenders and expenses.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan set Bankman-Fried’s sentencing for March 28, 2024. He faces up to 115 years in prison.
