‘Crypto King’ Sam Bankman-Fried faces decades in jail after guilty verdict

BBC :
Sam Bankman-Fried, who once ran one of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, has been found guilty of fraud and money laundering at the end of a month-long trial in New York.
The jury delivered its verdict after less than five hours of deliberations.
It concludes a stunning fall from grace for the 31-year-old former billionaire, once known as the “King of Crypto”, who now faces decades in jail.
Bankman-Fried was arrested last year after his firm, FTX, went bankrupt.
His sentencing has been set for 28 March next year.
Cryptocurrency exchange FTX was once valued at $32bn (£26bn), but when it went bankrupt in November last year $8bn in customer funds was missing.
“Sam Bankman-Fried perpetrated one of the biggest financial frauds in American history – a multibillion-dollar scheme designed to make him the king of crypto,” US attorney Damian Williams said in a statement after the verdict.
“This case has always been about lying, cheating and stealing, and we have no patience for it,” he added.
Bankman-Fried stood in front of the jury with his hands clasped as the verdict was read, while his parents sat with their heads in their hands.
The jury found him guilty of lying to investors and lenders and stealing billions of dollars from FTX, helping to precipitate its collapse. He had been charged with seven counts of fraud and money laundering.
He had pleaded not guilty to all the charges, maintaining that, while he had made mistakes, he had acted in good faith.
After the verdict, Bankman-Fried’s lawyer Mark Cohen said: “We respect the jury’s decision. But we are very disappointed with the result.
“Mr Bankman-Fried maintains his innocence and will continue to vigorously fight the charges against him,” he added.
A spokesperson for Bankman-Fried did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment on whether he planned to appeal against the verdict.
Three of his former close friends and colleagues, including his ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison, pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against him in hopes of reducing their own sentences.