Michael M. Santiago
Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder of collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX (FTT-USD), was found gulity of all seven criminal fraud counts.
A jury found him guilty and the former FTX CEO now faces a maximum sentence of 115 years in prison after jurors deliberated for less than five hours Thursday, according to media reports, including CNBC and Bloomberg.
Judge Lewis Kaplan set a sentencing date for March 28, according to CNBC, which cited a source familiar.
“Sam Bankman-Fried perpetrated one of the biggest financial frauds in American history,” US Attorney Damian Williams, whose office led the investigation, said at a press conference outside the courthouse on Thursday. “A multibillion dollar scheme designed to make him the King of Crypto.”
“The cryptocurrency industry might be new,” Williams added. “The players like Sam Bankman-Fried might be new, but this kind of fraud, this kind of corruption, is as old as time, and we have no patience for it.”
Since his arrest in December, the former billionaire has maintained his innocence, having pleaded not guilty to seven counts of federal fraud and conspiracy tied to the downfall of FTX (FTT-USD) and its sister trading firm Alameda Research.
“We respect the jury’s decision, but we are very disappointed with the result,” Mark Cohen, Bankman-Fried’s lawyer said in a statement to CNBC. “Mr. Bankman-Fried maintains his innocence and will continue to vigorously fight the charges against him.”
Earlier this month, three of Bankman-Fried’s business affiliates told the jury that he posted or had influenced others to post misleading messages on social media to falsely represent the health of FTX (FTT-USD) in an effort to bring an end to a deposit run, Reuters noted in a story on Monday. All three cooperating witnesses have pleaded not guilty and testified for prosecutors.