![Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried attends hearing to determine bail revocation](https://static.seekingalpha.com/cdn/s3/uploads/getty_images/1607950830/image_1607950830.jpg?io=getty-c-w750)
Michael M Santiago
Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX (FTT-USD), was found guilty on all seven counts of criminal fraud.
A jury found him guilty and the former FTX CEO now faces a maximum sentence of 115 years prison after jurors deliberated for less than five hours Thursday, according to media reports and others CNBC and Bloomberg.
Judge Lewis Kaplan set the sentencing date for March 28, according to CNBC, citing a source familiar with the case.
“Sam Bankman-Fried committed one of the largest financial frauds in American history,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, whose office led the investigation, said Thursday at a news conference outside the courthouse. “A multi-billion dollar scheme designed to make him the King of Crypto.”
“The cryptocurrency industry may be new,” Williams added. “Players like Sam Bankman-Fried may be new, but this kind of fraud, this kind of corruption is as old as time, and we have no patience for it.”
Since his arrest in December, the former billionaire has maintained his innocence after pleading not guilty to seven counts of federal fraud and conspiracy related to the demise of FTX (FTT-USD) and its sister trading firm Alameda Research.
“We respect the jury’s decision, but we are very disappointed with the outcome,” Bankman-Fried’s attorney Mark Cohen said in a statement to CNBC. “Mr Bankman-Fried maintains his innocence and will continue to vigorously fight the charges against him.”
Earlier this month, three of Bankman-Fried’s business associates told the jury that he posted misleading social media posts or influenced others to post misleading social media posts to falsely portray the health of FTX (FTT-USD) in an effort to put an end to a deposit. walking, Reuters noted in a story on Monday. All three cooperating witnesses have pleaded not guilty and testified for prosecutors.