Following Sam Bankman-Fried’s conviction, a U.S. lawyer mentioned that the previous FTX fraud case is “as outdated as time,” including that the federal government is able to take care of fraudsters who consider they’re untouchable and past prosecution.
The founder and former CEO of the collapsed crypto trade FTX, who was the darling of the cryptocurrency trade, acquired a verdict declaring him responsible of all seven counts, together with fraud and conspiracy expenses.
Regardless of the decision, Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyer declared that the combat wasn’t over, sustaining that his consumer was harmless.
There isn’t any hiding place for fraudsters
The U.S. District Lawyer for the Southern District of New York issued a press release following the responsible verdict delivered by 12 jurors.
Lawyer Williams described Sam Bankman-Fried’s monetary fraud as one of many greatest in America’s historical past however added that such corruption, albeit new within the crypto world, “is as outdated as time.”
“Sam Bankman-Fried perpetrated one of many greatest monetary frauds in American historical past – a multibillion-dollar scheme designed to make him the King of Crypto – however whereas the cryptocurrency trade is likely to be new and the gamers like Sam Bankman-Fried is likely to be new, this type of corruption is as outdated as time. This case has at all times been about mendacity, dishonest, and stealing, and we’ve no endurance.”
The lawyer, whereas acknowledging that the trial “moved at lightning velocity,” warned that no fraudster was untouchable nor past prosecution, including that such criminals will face the complete wrath of the legislation.
After a month-long trial, the jury delivered a unanimous verdict on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023, declaring Bankman-Fried responsible of two counts involving wire fraud and 5 conspiracy expenses.
The U.S. District Decide Lewis Kaplan, overseeing the case, scheduled a second trial for March 2024.
Sam Bankman-Fried’s sentencing is slated to occur on March 28. With the responsible verdict, the previous crypto billionaire might resist 115 years in jail.
Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyer not giving up
In the meantime, Bankman-Fried’s protection lawyer, Mark Cohen, expressed disappointment however mentioned that his consumer, “Mr. Sam Bankman-Fried, maintains his innocence and can proceed to combat the fees towards him vigorously.”
Following the responsible verdict, a number of feedback have come from inside and outdoors the crypto trade.
Andrew Lin, associate at enterprise capital agency Sequoia Capital, mentioned the responsible verdict confirmed that the previous FTX boss misled prospects and traders, together with Sequoia and himself.
Sequoia Capital misplaced round $214 million in its funding in FTX after the crypto trade’s eventful collapse in November 2022. The corporate marked down the worth of its FTX funding to zero and later confronted a class-action lawsuit from traders who accused the corporate of selling the bankrupt cryptocurrency platform.
Additionally, quick vendor Marc Cohodes mentioned different crypto bigwigs like Tron founder and HTX International advisor Justin Solar, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, popularly often known as “C.Z.,” and former chairman of the Commodity Futures Buying and selling Fee (CFTC) Christopher Giancarlo “received’t sleep nicely.”
Cohodes additional speculated that USDC, the second-largest stablecoin, may see its market cap contract as a few of its high executives resign.