Sam Bankman-Fried Convicted on All Counts in 'One of the Biggest Financial Frauds in American History'

A federal jury convicts Sam Bankman-Fried on all seven criminal counts including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering in what federal prosecutors describe as ‘one of the biggest financial frauds in American history.’ The conviction follows a month-long trial where prosecutors demonstrated Bankman-Fried systematically stole over $8 billion in FTX customer funds to finance Alameda Research trading losses, make political donations, purchase luxury real estate, and fund venture investments. The jury deliberated for just over four hours before reaching unanimous guilty verdicts. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 110 years in prison.

The conviction exposes the depth of regulatory failure and political corruption in cryptocurrency oversight. Despite operating one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, FTX had no meaningful board oversight, basic accounting controls, or segregation of customer funds—all obvious red flags regulators ignored. Bankman-Fried’s political donations to both parties bought regulatory forbearance, with the CFTC and SEC failing to investigate despite public concerns about FTX’s operations. Testimony revealed Bankman-Fried used customer money to make over $100 million in political contributions, explicitly stating the purpose was to influence cryptocurrency regulation. The case demonstrates how the cryptocurrency industry operated as an unregulated frontier where fraud flourished under the protection of campaign finance corruption. While Bankman-Fried faces justice, the regulatory failures that enabled the fraud persist, with crypto firms continuing to operate with minimal oversight.