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Sam Bankman-Fried has been found guilty of all seven charges laid against him in his criminal trial, just hours after prosecutors laid down their final rebuttal to the defence. Meanwhile, PayPal says it has received a subpoena from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding its U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin.
Sam Bankman-Fried is found guilty on all 7 charges in criminal trial
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty of all seven charges by a jury in New York after about four hours of deliberations.
Bankman-Fried was found guilty of two counts of wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud conspiracy, one count of securities fraud, one count of commodities fraud conspiracy and one count of money laundering conspiracy.
He will return to court for sentencing by New York District Judge Lewis Kaplan on March 28, 2024. Government prosecutors will recommend a sentence but Judge Kaplan will have the final say.
SBF guilty on all charges.
Later dude.
I remember when consensus on this platform was that he was too politically connected to go to jail, the system was rigged, he would never get arrested, he would never go to court.
He was always going away, sorry conspiracy theorists.
— The Wolf Of All Streets (@scottmelker) November 2, 2023
Bankman-Fried’s crimes each carry a maximum sentence of between 5 and 20 years in prison with the wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy carrying a maximum 20-year sentence.
In a press conference outside the court, the New York Southern District U.S. Attorney Damian Williams called Bankman-Fried’s crimes “a multibillion-dollar scheme designed to make him the king of crypto” and one of the biggest financial frauds in American history.
SBF “lied to get customers’ trust,” prosecutor says
United States Assistant Attorney Danielle Sassoon presented the prosecution’s rebuttal to Sam Bankman-Fried’s defense on Nov. 2.
Speaking to the court, Sassoon claimed that prosecutors “met the burden” of proving Bankman-Fried’s guilt related to seven counts of fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud. She claimed that the former FTX CEO lied to customers about the safety of their funds, as well as FTX’s relationship with Alameda Research.
“He didn’t want to be a criminal on the run,” she said. “He lied to get customers’ trust.”
Sassoon also claimed that Bankman-Fried avoided hiring a risk officer because he “knew what he was doing was wrong.”
A jury of 12 will begin deliberations about Bankman-Fried’s fate later in the day.
PayPal faces SEC action related to PYUSD stablecoin: Official
Payment giant PayPal has received a subpoena from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding its U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin.
The Enforcement division of the SEC has sent a subpoena to PayPal related to its PayPal USD stablecoin, the firm officially disclosed on Nov. 2 in its Q3 financial report with the SEC.
Received by PayPal on Nov. 1, the subpoena requested PayPal to produce certain documents, the firm said. “We are cooperating with the SEC regarding this request,” PayPal noted.
The action comes about three months after PayPal launched its PYUSD stablecoin in early August. The stablecoin is issued by Paxos Trust and backed by U.S. dollar deposits, short-term Treasurys and similar cash equivalents. PYUSD is based on the Ethereum blockchain and is aimed at handling digital payments and Web3.
According to a spokesperson for Paxos, PYUSD has seen a successful rollout so far, reaching a $150 million market capitalization in the two months since its launch. At the time of writing, the market cap of PYUSD is valued at about $159 million, with almost $2.7 million in daily trading volume, according to data from CoinGecko.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
