The sensational downfall of cryptocurrency entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried seemingly concluded on Thursday, when a jury in New York City found the 31-year-old guilty on all seven charges of fraud and money laundering. This stamps the end to a tumultuous year for Bankman-Fried and his now-bankrupt FTX financial exchanges.
U.S. prosecutor Damian Williams emphasized the severity of the case when providing comment, describing Bankman-Fried’s alleged pilfering of “$8 billion from the exchange’s customers for his own use” and dubbing it as “one of the biggest financial frauds in American history.”
Mark Cohen, the disgraced mogul’s attorney, responded to the guilty verdict with one word – disappointment. “We respect the jury’s decision but we are very disappointed with the result,” he said in a statement. Cohen relayed his belief that Bankman-Fried’s innocence will be proven in further proceedings.
A jail sentence of many years could be handed out given the magnitude of Bankman-Fried’s criminal activity, yet no such judgement will be served until the date of sentencing is revealed. There still remains a slim possibility of success for the reformed deciding to appeal his rotten luck.
