Sam Bankman-Fried is found guilty of all seven charges he had faced

Sam Bankman-Fried leaves a Manhattan federal court in New York City on Jan. 3, 2023.

Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images

Sam Bankman-Fried, the former head of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, was found guilty of each of the seven criminal charges he was facing, marking a spectacular fall from grace for a “math nerd” who was once a shining star in finance.

Bankman-Fried now faces the prospect of spending decades in prison after being convicted on charges including securities fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. The jury deliberated just for several hours before reaching its verdict.

Bankman-Fried is likely to appeal the decision.

“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,” Mark Cohen, Bankman-Fried’s lawyer, said in a statement.

During a trial that lasted more than four weeks, prosecutors sought to prove that Bankman-Fried had been a criminal mastermind who orchestrated one of the largest financial frauds in history.

In a courtroom that was frequently packed, prosecutors detailed how Bankman-Fried and some of his top lieutenants secretly funneled billions of dollars in customer assets from FTX to Alameda Research, a private trading firm he also controlled.

The U.S. government said the former billionaire treated Alameda like a personal piggybank, using FTX customer money to buy luxury real estate for friends and family, and to make political donations and risky investments.

“This was a pyramid of deceit built by the defendant on a foundation of lies and false promises, all to get money,”…