"He used to be Sam Bankman-Fried and now he is Sam Bankman-jailed," says LegalEagle in his breakdown video of the high-profile case against the FTX founder.
The Manhattan jury found Bankman-Fried guilty of two counts of wire fraud and five conspiracy crimes. The jury convicted him on all seven counts in a few hours, a remarkable speed for such a complex white-collar trial.
LegalEagle details how FTX secretly loaned billions in customer money to Bankman-Fried's Alameda Research without collateral. This misuse led to the inability of customers to withdraw their funds and the creation of fake spreadsheets and backdating fees.
During the trial, Bankman-Fried's initially claimed that FTX utilized solid risk management protocols, with him being heavily involved in all aspects of the business. However, post-collapse, his tone shifted to that of an inncocent bystander, overwhelmed by the actions of other executives.
During the trial he repeated the phrase "I don't recall" over 100 times, even when confronted with his own statements on video and audio recordings.
The testimonies against Bankman-Fried were particularly damning. Former colleagues, including Gary Wang and Nishad Singh, took plea deals and testified against him, exposing the depth of the financial mismanagement. Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research, testified about the fabrication of financial documents and the misuse of FTX customer funds, as per Bankman-Fried's directions. She testified, "He suggested I should prepare some alternative ways of presenting the information and send it to him."
