A US federal court in Manhattan, New York has found Sam Bankman-Fried guilty of fraud and money laundering in connection with the collapse of his crypto empire.
Bankman-Fried, who founded and controlled both FTX and sister hedge fund Alameda research, was accused of misappropriating and embezzling billions of dollars in FTX customer deposits, scheming to mislead investors, and instructing other executives at his businesses to do the same in a seven-count charges – two counts of wire fraud and five conspiracy counts.
The presiding Judge, Lewis Kaplan, scheduled sentencing hearing for March 28.
The charges against him have a combined maximum sentence of 110 years in prison.
Bankman-Fried who took the stand in his own defense, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
However, he admitted to making mistakes but insisted he did not defraud or steal from anyone.
The FTX founder accumulated an estimated net worth of $26 billion before FTX declared bankruptcy in November 2022.
The crypto exchange collapsed after reports that
FTX had merged assets with Alameda, leading to a run on the Exchange.
Bankman-Fried is also accused of violating campaign finance laws by using FTX customer funds to make billions in political donations through an illegal straw-donor scheme, and for allegedly bribing Chinese officials.
His second criminal trial Bankman-Fried is set to begin in March 2024.
Ifunanya Ikueze is an Engineer, Safety Professional, Writer, Investor, Entrepreneur and Educator.
