A jury has found Sam Bankman-Fried guilty of all seven criminal counts against him. The FTX founder faces a maximum sentence of 115 years in prison.
Bankman-Fried, the 31-year-old son of two Stanford legal scholars and graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was convicted of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud against FTX customers and against Alameda Research lenders, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to commit commodities fraud against FTX investors, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
He had pleaded not guilty to the charges, which were all tied to the collapse late last year of #FTX and sister hedge fund Alameda.
“Sam Bankman-Fried perpetrated one of the biggest financial frauds in American history,” Damian Williams, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a briefing after the verdicts were read. “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. This case has always been about lying, cheating, and stealing, and we have no patience for it.”
Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement: “Sam Bankman-Fried thought that he was above the law. Today’s verdict proves he was wrong.”
“This case should send a clear message to anyone who tries to hide their crimes behind a shiny new thing they claim no one else is smart enough to understand: the Justice Department will hold you accountable.”
The federal trial, which began in early October, pitted the testimony of Bankman-Fried’s former close friends and top lieutenants against the sworn statements of their former boss and ex-roommate. The jury returned a swift verdict after receiving the case at around 3:15 p.m. ET on Thursday and breaking for dinner at around 6 p.m. ET. #SBF
At 7:37 p.m. ET, the attorneys began to rush back into the courtroom, and the clerk said, “The jury has reached a verdict.” A minute later, the jury was back in the room.
Bankman-Fried’s parents were visibly nervous entering the courtroom. They sat in the second pew and took turns putting their arms around each other. When the defendant, wearing a purple tie and a black suit, returned to the table with his attorneys, he leaned back in his chair. He didn’t flinch and stared straight ahead.
From the top floor of the lower Manhattan courthouse, Judge Lewis Kaplan, who presided over the trial, instructed Bankman-fried to stand and face the jury box as the verdicts were read. The only two people standing were the forewoman and the defendant.
By 7:47 p.m. ET, all counts had been read. Bankman-Fried remained stoic. He didn’t cry.
Immediately after the guilty verdicts, Bankman-Fried’s attorney, Mark Cohen, asked jurors to be polled. They went juror by juror, and each was asked if their verdict was read properly. Each said yes.
Kaplan thanked the jurors for their service, and they were escorted out.
Kaplan then asked about the second trial Bankman-Fried is facing on March 11. The government has until Feb. 1 to let the court know if it plans to still proceed. The sentencing date is March 28 at 9:30 a.m. ET.
At around 8:02 p.m. ET, Bankman-Fried began to walk to a side room. His parents were standing at the front of the center aisle, waiting for their son.
Following the verdict, Cohen said in a statement that Bankman-Fried “maintains his innocence and will continue to vigorously fight the charges against him.”
