Businessman Sam Bankman-Friedfounder and former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange platform FTX, was pleaded guilty of seven charges related to fraud, scam and money laundering. Thirteen months ago, the co-founder of Alameda Research had a fortune 26 billion dollars; now it could happen even 110 years in prison.
After a month of trial, this Thursday, November 2, a jury in the federal court of New York found the 31-year-old former billionaire guilty of the collapse of the exchange in November 2022. It is one of the most scandalous crypto-financial frauds of all. times, as it caused a deep crisis in the crypto sector.
Prosecutors accused Bankman-Fried of committing fraud against cryptocurrency investors, lenders and customersas well as steal up to 10,000 million dollars to finance political contributions, venture capital investments and other expenses through its subsidiary, Alameda Research, explains The Washington Post.
However, his formal sentence will be announced on March 28, 2024, according to The New York Times. Several analysts expect the businessman to appeal the decision, something confirmed by his own lawyer, Mark Cohen, who noted that his client “maintains his innocence and will continue to vigorously fight the charges against him.”
Almost as soon as he is sentenced, Sam Bankman-Fried will face another trial next March on a second set of charges filed in early 2023. These accusations include alleged international bribery and bank fraud conspiracies, according to Reuters. .
What will happen to Caroline Ellison and the rest of Sam Bankman-Fried’s collaborators?
Now, the big unknown is what will happen to the others responsible for the fall of FTX. The jury’s decision was based, to a large extent, on the testimonies of Sam Bankman-Fried’s three main and closest collaborators: Gary Wangco-founder and former CTO of FTX, Nishad Singhformer head of engineering at the company, and Caroline Ellisonwho was CEO of Alameda Research and former romantic partner of the accused.
All three were directly responsible for the collapse of FTX, which caused billions of dollars in losses to customers and investors. However, unlike their former boss, partner and ‘friend’, they pleaded guilty and turned themselves in to the authorities.
Thus, they revealed the details of the entire operation and pointed to the founder as responsible, stating that everything they did was by direct order from him.
Caroline Ellison, Nishad Singh and Gary Wang are expected to receive their respective sentences after Sam Bankman-Fried, i.e. in mid-2024.
Editorial Team The editorial team of EMPRENDEDOR.com, which for more than 27 years has worked to promote entrepreneurship.