FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted on fraud and money laundering charges Thursday, following a high-profile trial. The decision could place the former major donor to the Democratic Party behind bars for more than a century.
Bankman-Fried was convicted on all counts by a Manhattan jury in one of the largest financial cases of the decade. The former FTX chief was accused of defrauding customers of $8 billion.
The trial result came just one year after the cryptocurrency market declared bankruptcy and caused significant economic ripples.
According to U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, who prosecuted Bankman Fried, “this kind of fraud is as old as time and we have no patience for it.”
Sam Bankman-Fried – one of the largest Democrat donors – was just sent to jail for one of the biggest cases of fraud in history.
He defrauded regular people and gave it to Joe Biden and Democrats.
— GOP (@GOP) November 3, 2023
The convicted felon faces sentencing next March. He will also face another trial next March on allegations of foreign bribery and bank fraud.
Despite the conviction, Bankman-Fried’s attorney Mark Cohen said tha the “maintains his innocence and will continue to vigorously fight the charges against him.”
The conviction of the former crypto advocate could also have significant effects on American politics. Bankman-Fried was responsible for a number of donations to Democratic Party candidates and left-wing causes.
The former CEO was the second-largest donor to the Democratic Party in 2022. His donations totaled more than $40 million.
Separately, Bankman-Fried also donated $5.2 million to President Joe Biden’s campaign.
In addition to the more than $40 million to Democrats, he is alleged to have donated more than $17,000 to Republican Senate candidates.
Much of the money donated by the disgraced former CEO went to the Protect Our Future Political Action Group, which focused on the possibility of a future pandemic.
Overall, he donated $27 million to the PAC. His donations represented about 95% of the funds raised by the political group in 2022 with another major donation from another FTX executive.
The organization donated more than $10 million to Carrick Flynn, who sought the Democratic Party’s nomination for Congress to represent Oregon. The group also bankrolled candidates in Michigan and New York, who also lost their party’s nomination bids.
Furthermore, the organization also donated to Rep. Rob Menendez (D-NJ), whose father, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) was recently charged for allegedly accepting foreign bribes.
