FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried guilty on all counts of fraud after historic cryptocurrency collapse
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said they engaged in one of the biggest frauds in U.S. history.
NEW YORK — FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s spectacular rise and fall in the cryptocurrency industry — a journey that included his testimony before Congress, a Super Bowl advertisement and dreams of a future run for president — hit a new bottom Thursday when a New York jury convicted him of fraud in a scheme that cheated customers and investors of at least $10 billion.
After the monthlong trial, jurors rejected Bankman-Fried’s claim during four days on the witness stand in Manhattan federal court that he never committed fraud or meant to cheat customers before FTX, once the world’s second-largest crypto exchange, collapsed into bankruptcy a year ago.
“His crimes caught up to him. His crimes have been exposed,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon told the jury of the onetime billionaire just before they were read the law by Judge Lewis A. Kaplan and began deliberations. Sassoon said Bankman-Fried turned his customers’ accounts into his “personal piggy bank” as up to $14 billion disappeared.
She urged jurors to reject Bankman-Fried’s insistence when he testified over three days that he never committed fraud or plotted to steal from customers, investors and lenders and didn’t realize his companies were at least $10 billion in debt until October 2022.
……..
- Discussion
-
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried guilty on all counts of fraud after historic cryptocurrency collapse https://t.co/TFDcGkeXsB
— POLITICO (@politico) November 3, 2023
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.