The jury found Sam Bankman Freed guilty. Of all seven criminal charges against him. The FTX founder could be sentenced to up to 115 years in prison.
Bankman Fried, 31, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate and the son of two Stanford law scholars, is charged with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud against FTX customers and Alameda Research financiers, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and securities fraud. Convicted of conspiracy to commit fraud. Conspiracy to commit commodity fraud against FTX investors and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, all of which are related to the collapse of FTX and sister hedge fund Alameda late last year.
Sam Bankman Fried, co-founder of the FTX cryptocurrency derivatives exchange, will appear in court in New York, US, on Thursday, February 16, 2023.
Stephanie Keith | Bloomberg | Getty Images
“Sam Bankman Freed committed one of the greatest financial frauds in American history,” Damien Williams, an attorney for the Southern District of New York, said at a press conference after the verdict was read. “The crypto industry may be new and players like Sam Bankman Freed may be new, but this type of corruption has been around for a long time. This case has always been about lies, deceit, and theft, and we I don’t have the patience for that.” ”
“Sam Bankman Freed thought he was above the law, and today’s verdict proves him wrong,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
“This case should send a clear message to those who try to hide their crimes behind shiny new things that they claim are smarter than anyone can fathom. The Department of Justice will hold you accountable. I will pursue it.”
The federal trial, which began in early October, featured testimony from Bankman Fried’s former close friends and executives, as well as sworn statements from his former boss and former roommate. The jury received the case Thursday around 3:15 p.m. ET and returned a swift verdict after taking a dinner break around 6 p.m. ET.
At 7:37 p.m. ET, attorneys began rushing back into the courtroom and a clerk said, “The jury has reached a verdict.” A minute later, the jury returned to the room.
Bankman Freed’s parents entered the courtroom visibly nervous. They sat in the second seats and took turns linking arms. The defendant, wearing a purple tie and black suit, returned to the table with his lawyers and leaned back in his chair. He stared straight ahead, unflinching.
Sam Bankman Freed’s parents, seated on the left, react to the verdict. U.S. Attorney Damien Williams is seated on the far right.
Artist: Elizabeth Williams
Judge Lewis Kaplan, who presided over the trial on the top floor of a lower Manhattan courthouse, instructed Bankman Fried to stand and face the jury box as the verdict was read. The only two people standing were the female police chief and the defendant.
By 7:47 PM ET, all counts had been read. Bankman Freed remained stoic. he didn’t cry.
Immediately after the guilty verdict, Bankman Freed’s attorney Mark Cohen asked the jury to vote. They went through each juror and were asked whether each verdict had been read correctly. Each answered “yes.”
Sam Bankman Freed stands as a foreman reading the verdict in court.
Artist: Elizabeth Williams
Mr. Kaplan thanked the jurors for their hard work, and they were escorted out of the room.
Mr. Kaplan then asked about Mr. Bankman Fried’s second trial, which is scheduled for March 11th. The government has until February 1 to notify the court whether it intends to proceed with the case. Judgment date is March 28th at 9:30 a.m. ET.
At approximately 8:02 p.m. ET, Bankman-Freed began walking to the side room. His parents were standing in front of the center aisle waiting for their son.
After the verdict, Cohen said in a statement that Bankman Fried “maintains his innocence and will continue to vigorously prosecute the charges.”
friends turned against him
The month-long trial was highlighted by testimony from key government witnesses, including: Bankman Freed’s ex-girlfriend and former Alameda representative, Caroline Ellison, and FTX co-founder Gary Wang, who was a childhood friend of Bankman Freed from their math camp days. Both men pleaded guilty to multiple charges in December and cooperated as witnesses for the prosecution.
On October 11, 2023, in federal court in New York City, Sam Bankman Fried is questioned during a fraud trial by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan over the collapse of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX.Caroline – Mr. Ellison is questioned. This courtroom sketch was taken on October 11, 2023.
Jane Rosenberg Reuter
Most of the defense’s case is built on Bankman Fried’s own testimony, which he told the court he did not commit fraud or steal customers’ money and that he had made several business mistakes. He said he just did it.
The central issue for jurors to consider is that Bankman Freed withdrew customer funds from FTX and used them to invest in real estate, venture investments, corporate sponsorships, political contribution payments and, after the cryptocurrency price crash, Alameda. The question was whether he acted with criminal intent to use the money to cover his losses. last year.
In closing arguments Wednesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Roos told the court there was “no material dispute” that $10 billion in customer funds stored on FTX’s cryptocurrency exchange went missing. Ta. The question, he said, was whether Bankman Freed knew it was wrong to accept the money.
“The defendant schemed, lied and spent the money to get the money,” Ruth said.
Bankman Fried is currently awaiting sentencing. His case has been compared to that of Elizabeth Holmes, founder of medical device company Theranos, which went out of business in 2018.
Holmes, 39, was convicted in early 2022 on four counts of defrauding Theranos investors after testifying in his own defense. She was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison, and she began serving her sentence in May at a minimum security facility in Bryan, Texas.
— CNBC’s Dawn Giel contributed to this report.
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