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Crypto Tycoons
Former crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried faces the potential of decades in prison when he is sentenced on Thursday for his role in the 2022 collapse of FTX, once one of the world's most popular platforms for trading digital currency. Bankman-Fried, 32, was convicted in November of fraud and conspiracy a dramatic fall from a year earlier when he and his companies seemed to be riding a crest of success that resulted in a Super Bowl advertisement and celebrity endorsements from stars like quarterback Tom Brady and comedian Larry David. A jury found that Bankman-Fried illegally used money from FTX depositors to cover his expenses, which included purchasing luxury properties in the Caribbean, alleged bribes to Chinese officials and private planes. Prosecutors recommended a prison sentence of 40 to 50 years. The defendant victimised tens of thousands of people and companies, across several continents, over a period of multiple years. He stole money from customers who entrusted it to him; h
The final stages of jury selection resumed on Wednesday at the fraud trial of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried in New York City. Opening statements were expected to begin by the early afternoon in Manhattan federal court, where Bankman-Fried has entered not guilty pleas to seven charges. Prosecutors say the California man defrauded thousands of investors and customers in his businesses by siphoning off their money for his own uses. Defense lawyers insist that their client had no criminal intent as he became famous in the crypto world while growing FTX and a related business, Alameda Research, into multibillion dollar heavyweights in the cryptocurrency industry. Attorneys and Judge Lewis A. Kaplan were reducing a pool of 45 prospective jurors to a jury of 12 with six alternates, who would sit through the duration of a trial projected to last up to six weeks. Bankman-Fried, 31, became a target of investigators when FTX collapsed last November amid a rush of customers seeking to recover