The News
A jury found FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried guilty of all fraud and conspiracy charges following a weeks-long trial.
Prosecutors had accused Bankman-Fried of defrauding investors and customers of the cryptocurrency exchange by using their money to fund his crypto-focused hedge fund, Alameda Research.
Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, called it “one of the biggest financial frauds in American history.”
Bankman-Fried, 31, and his attorneys admitted that he made mistakes in running FTX, but said he did not intentionally defraud investors. But witnesses who took plea deals with prosecutors said Bankman-Fried was well aware he could potentially be illegally funding Alameda.
FTX collapsed about a year ago and filed for bankruptcy following reports about its assets and financial health.
Bankman-Fried — a former Semafor investor — faces a separate trial for allegedly attempting to bribe Chinese officials.
