Key Takeaways:
- The 12-member jury has found Sam Bankman-Fried guilty on all seven charges.
- The verdict came after a little over 4 hours of deliberations following closing arguments.
- Presiding judge Lewis Kaplan has set the sentencing date on March 28, 2024.
YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) — Former cryptocurrency mogul Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) has been found guilty on all counts after a month-long trial that dwelled into the events leading to the collapse of his crypto exchange FTX last November.
The unanimous verdict by the 12 jurors convicted Bankman-Fried on seven charges of fraud, embezzlement, and criminal conspiracy. The deliberations ahead of the verdict took a little over four hours.
The Government had charged SBF for orchestrating one of the “biggest financial frauds in US history.”
Bankman-Fried, once a young billionaire and a rising star in the world of cryptocurrencies, was accused of misappropriating as much as $10 billion. The jury agreed with the claims that he siphoned off customers’ money to his hedge fund, Alameda Research, and used them to engage in high-risk investments. Moreover, he used the money that did not belong to him to purchase real estate and finance political campaigns.
Judge Kaplan sets Sentencing Date in March
Following the verdict, presiding judge Lewis A. Kaplan set the date for Bankman-Fried’s sentencing on March 28, 2024. The 31-year-old faces a potential prison sentence of up to 115 years.
During the trial, Bankman-Fried admitted to errors in managing FTX. However, he consistently denied any deliberate intention to defraud customers. His defense team tried to present him as an honest businessman who tried to do good but failed.
However, the Government had made a good case for his guilt. All seemed lost for SBF thwhenis former colleagues, including then-girlfriend Caroline Ellison, testified against him.
Everything they said pointed out that he oversaw the illegalities at boX and Alameda. His defense had little to argue against it.
Yet, in a final desperate attempt, he opted to testify. That strategy did not work either. It backfired, as he looked extremely unforthcoming and untrustworthy on the stand.
Meanwhile, Bankman-Fried is scheduled to stand trial again next March on a separate set of charges. These charges, filed by the prosecutors earlier this year, include allegations of foreign bribery and conspiracies related to bank fraud. If found guilty on those counts, too, his jail sentence will be even longer.
