Following a month-long trial, former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted in federal court on Thursday on seven counts related to defrauding investors of billions of dollars.
Thursday’s conviction came after it was discovered last November that FTX and Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency trading firm Alameda Research had notable overlaps on their balance sheets. This called into question FTX’s liquidity, prompting users to withdraw $6 billion from the company and leading to its bankruptcy. Bankman-Fried, or SBF, ultimately admitted to “funneling billions of dollars in customer funds to his own hedge fund,” which “upend[ed] the entire cryptocurrency sector.”
Federal prosecutors went on to file charges the following month.
According to CNBC, the 31-year-old was convicted on Thursday 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.” SBF — who pled not guilty to the charges — now faces up to more than 100 years in prison.
The former CEO’s time in federal court may not be finished, however. According to The New York Times, SBF is facing a potential second trial regarding a separate batch of charges that include “campaign finance violations.” A campaign finance charge against the crypto guru was originally included in federal prosecutors’ first batch of indictments but was withdrawn following a dispute over extradition rules with the Bahamas, where FTX was headquartered.
If approved, the second trial would take place sometime “early next
