The jury has reached a verdict in the trial of former crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried Thursday.
The verdict was reached at around 4:40 p.m., around four hours after the jury began deliberations, according to CNBC.
The co-founder of the digital currency exchange FTX was charged with seven counts of wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering that defrauded customers of his digital currency exchange, FTX, and lenders to its affiliated hedge fund, Alameda Research.
FTX and Alameda quickly collapsed in November 2022 after some of their financial liabilities were exposed. The fact that Alameda had taken billions of dollars from FTX’s customers, and that much of Alameda’s balance sheet was comprised of digital currency assets it had created, was central to the case against Bankman-Fried.
Unnerved by disclosures about the firm’s financial position, many of FTX’s customers tried to get their money back. That set off the equivalent of a bank run. The value of Alameda’s investments crashed, and FTX couldn’t return much of that money because it had been given to Alameda. Some went to the fund’s lenders, and billions were spent on sponsorships, commercials, and loans to top executives. That, too, was a major part of the case against Bankman-Fried.
Much of FTX and Alameda’s leadership were also charged after the firms went under. Former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison, FTX co-founder Gary Wang, and FTX technology chief Nishad Singh all pleaded guilty to the charges against them. They agreed to cooperate with the prosecution and testify against Bankman-Fried in exchange for lighter sentences.
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Bankman-Fried’s lawyers contended that he did not intend to defraud anyone and that the government was looking for someone to blame after the failures of FTX and Alameda.
Forbes had once estimated that Bankman-Fried’s stakes in Alameda and FTX were worth $26 billion. He was 29 at the time. But after the bankruptcies, that was gone. Criminal charges followed weeks later.
He also faces another trial on charges of bribing foreign officials and other counts. That trial is scheduled to begin in March, and Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
