Sam Bankman-Fried found guilty in FTX fraud trial
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A New York City jury convicted FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried of fraud on Thursday after less than 5 hours of deliberation. He was found guilty of all 7 charges, with sentencing to take place on March 28, 2024. Bankman-Fried may also have to face another set of criminal charges that allege he committed bank fraud and bribed Chinese officials. Yahoo Finance Legal Reporter Alexis Keenan joins the Live show to break down everything involved in the trial and the decision handed down by the jury.
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Video Transcript
BRAD SMITH: But we've got to switch gears here and talk Sam Bankman-Fried, who has been found guilty of all seven charges. He was facing, including wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering. Here now, with the details is our own Alexis Keenan. Hey, Alexis.
ALEXIS KEENAN: Good morning. Yeah. It was a very somber and tense in that courtroom last night. The jury deliberating for just under, I would say, four hours. So this was an incredibly swift verdict. Finding Bankman-Fried guilty on all seven charges brought by the Justice Department. Those charges-- wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, as well as securities fraud, and commodities fraud, and money laundering. Together when you add up all of these charges, they have consequences of 110 years in prison.
Bankman-Fried will likely be sentenced to far less than that, a fraction of that. But nonetheless, could result in decades behind bars. He is also facing another set of criminal charges that the government has to decide by February, whether they will actually bring those charges. They're related to bank fraud, and also campaign finance donations that the government says are illegal.
Now, the jury heard evidence about what Bankman-Fried told investors, lenders, customers about the deposits on FTX's exchange versus what he actually did with the money. We now know that his hedge fund, Alameda Research, was using that money, leveraging it, spending it on real estate, on political donations, and other expenditures, other investment, large multi-billion dollar investments using that money. And they did not believe Bankman-Fried's testimony, when he got up, took the stand, and in his own words, said, as CEO, that he did not know that Alameda had accrued a whole of $10 to $14 billion using those customer assets.
So the jury not buying his own words there. But guys, Bankman-Fried has potentially a long road ahead. He may still be facing other charges.