Sam Bankman-Fried Found Guilty on All 7 Charges, Faces Sentencing on March 28, 2024
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has been convicted on all seven charges brought against him following a month-long trial. The trial, which saw prosecutors and defense attorneys present their evidence and witnesses, culminated in a stunning decision by a 12-member jury.
The jury spent a substantial portion of the 18th day of the trial in intense deliberation before delivering their unanimous verdict. After over three hours of careful consideration, they informed Judge Lewis Kaplan that they had reached “absolute consensus.” As a result, the jury declared Sam Bankman-Fried guilty of all seven charges as outlined in the indictment. The charges include:
- Conspiracy to defraud customers’ deposits.
- Fraudulently taking customer deposits.
- Conspiracy to defraud creditors’ funds.
- Fraudulently taking creditors’ funds.
- Conspiracy to defraud assets.
- Conspiracy to defraud securities.
- Money laundering conspiracy.
However, Judge Kaplan announced that the sentencing hearing for the former FTX CEO will be held on March 28, 2024. Bankman-Fried is facing the possibility of a maximum sentence of 115 years in prison.
In response to the verdict, Bankman-Fried’s defense team promptly filed an appeal challenging the jury’s decision. In the meantime, he will remain incarcerated in a New York City jail.
It is worth noting that Sam Bankman-Fried still faces additional charges from the U.S. Department of Justice, including allegations of financial contribution violations, bank fraud, operating an illegal money transfer organization, and bribing foreign officials. These pending charges could lead to further trials in the future.
The conviction of Sam Bankman-Fried comes almost exactly one year after CoinDesk revealed that Alameda Research’s financial balance sheet had been leaked, exposing that a significant portion of the fund’s assets were held in the form of FTT tokens and “Sam coin.” This revelation had a direct impact on the subsequent collapse of FTX just nine days later.
Read more:
- Crypto Mogul Sam Bankman-Fried’s Emotional Trial Comes To A Close
- Sam Bankman-Fried’s Early Desire To Sell FTX To Binance