FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty on Thursday of stealing from customers of his now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange in one of the biggest financial frauds on record, a verdict that cemented the 31-year-old former billionaire's fall from grace.
A 12-member jury in Manhattan federal court convicted Bankman-Fried on all seven counts he faced after a monthlong trial in which prosecutors made the case that he looted $8 billion from the exchange's users out of sheer greed.
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.
Bankman-Fried – who had amassed billions in what prosecutors effectively described as hi-tech grift enabled by his scruffily trustworthy persona – was dealt an even stronger blow than mere conviction.
Jurors determined that he had committed all seven counts he had faced for wire fraud and conspiracy to launder money in his Manhattan federal court trial, meaning he faces a maximum of more than 100 years in prison.
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