Friday, 3 November 2023

Sam Bankman-Fried Trial: Fallen Crypto Mogul Convicted in Collapse That Cost Users Billions

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Sam Bankman-Fried, whose FTX cryptocurrency exchange collapsed last year, was accused of using the firm as his personal piggy bank. Prosecutors said he orchestrated a scheme to steal as much as $10 billion from his users.

Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire was valued at $32 billion before is suddenly collapsed last year. | Brittainy Newman for The New York Times

Sam Bankman-Fried, the tousle-haired mogul who founded the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, was convicted on Thursday of all seven charges of fraud and conspiracy after a monthlong trial that laid bare the hubris and risk-taking across the crypto industry. These charges carry a maximum sentence of 110 years.

Mr. Bankman-Fried became a symbol of crypto’s excesses last year, when FTX collapsed and he was charged with stealing as much as $10 billion from customers to finance political contributions, venture capital investments and other extravagant spending.

Mr. Bankman-Fried, 31, is expected to appeal. » | David Yaffe-Bellany, Matthew Goldstein and J. Edward Moreno | November 2, 2023

Sam Bankman-Fried found guilty of defrauding FTX customers: A jury in Manhattan federal court convicted him on all seven counts of fraud and conspiracy »