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Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty on all seven counts by a panel of 12 jurors on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The jury found the former executive guilty after a month-long trial where the prosecution presented nearly 17 witnesses to the defense\u2019s three, with Bankman-Fried himself taking the stand. FTX co-founder Gary Wang, former head of engineering Nishad Singh and former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison testified against their former colleague.<\/p>\n
Sam Bankman-Fried\u2019s sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 28. A hearing will be held where Judge Lewis Kaplan \u2014 who oversaw the entirety of Bankman-Fried\u2019s trial \u2014 will decide on his sentence. The former executive faces a maximum sentence of 115 years.<\/p>\n
Prior to jury deliberations, Bankman-Fried\u2019s testimony \u2014 which lasted four days \u2014 was peppered by statements like \u201cI don\u2019t recall\u201d and \u201cI don\u2019t remember.\u201d<\/a> He was chided more than once by Judge Lewis Kaplan who reminded him to answer the questions asked<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Parts of Bankman-Fried\u2019s testimony contradicted what Ellison told the court, including that she mocked up seven different Alameda balance sheets \u2014 at Bankman-Fried\u2019s behest \u2014 and shared them with him.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bankman-Fried, however, claimed no such recollection<\/a> and said he wasn\u2019t even sure that Ellison sent him the document. Google metadata, prosecutors said, showed him opening it.<\/p>\n Ultimately, Bankman-Fried\u2019s testimony fell back on blaming those who worked for him.\u00a0<\/p>\n The prosecution, in their case, painted Sam Bankman-Fried as being a very present \u2014 perhaps at times too present \u2014 boss who was aware of the moves and decisions his lieutenants made.\u00a0<\/p>\n The wins for the defense weren\u2019t as evident during the prosecution\u2019s case, though Bankman-Fried\u2019s lawyers were able to score a win when Singh was on the stand<\/a> in getting the former engineering head to admit that he knew he had to repay Alameda for the loans issued so he could make political donations. Singh pleaded guilty to a campaign finance-related charge.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t the end of the legal road for Bankman-Fried, however, as he still faces a charge related to campaign finance from the Department of Justice. While it had been included in the original eight-count indictment, the Bahamas declined to extradite Bankman-Fried<\/a> on the charge so it was dropped in July.<\/p>\n In August, however, prosecutors alleged that Sam Bankman-Fried used around $100 million<\/a> in stolen funds for political donations.\u00a0<\/p>\n While the aforementioned testimony was admissible during the trial, Judge Kaplan made it clear to the jury that Bankman-Fried was not facing the charge as part of the current case.<\/p>\n The verdict arrives near the first anniversary of FTX\u2019s collapse. The company is still in bankruptcy proceedings<\/a>.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t miss the next big story \u2013 join our\u00a0free daily newsletter<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\nThe justice system isn\u2019t done with Sam Bankman-Fried<\/h3>\n
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