NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, has been found guilty of defrauding customers and lenders after a five-week trial.

 The guilty verdict was delivered by a New York jury on Thursday, with all seven charges against the former crypto billionaire being upheld. The jury deliberated for approximately four hours before reaching their decision.

Bankman-Fried, who co-founded the digital currency exchange FTX, was charged with seven counts of wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering. These charges stemmed from his alleged actions that swindled customers of FTX and lenders to its affiliated hedge fund, Alameda Research.

Mark S. Cohen, counsel to Bankman-Fried, expressed their respect for the jury's decision but noted their disappointment.

FTX and Alameda experienced a rapid collapse in November 2022 when certain financial liabilities were exposed. The revelation that Alameda had taken billions of dollars from FTX's customers, along with the fact that a significant portion of Alameda's balance sheet consisted of digital currency assets it had created, played a pivotal role in the case against Bankman-Fried.

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