Jury begins deliberations for a verdict in the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried

A jury of nine women and three men began deliberating a verdict Thursday afternoon in the criminal fraud case against Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced entrepreneur accused of stealing as much as $10 billion in customer funds from his FTX crypto exchange.

Jurors will decide whether to convict Mr Bankman-Fried on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy. If they do not reach a decision by Thursday evening, deliberations will resume on Monday.

All 12 jurors must agree to convict or acquit Mr. Bankman-Fried on each of the seven charges. If even one juror disagrees, it would result in a hung jury.

Federal prosecutors have accused Mr. Bankman-Fried of taking billions of dollars in customer deposits from FTX to finance investments, political donations and luxury real estate. The exchange failed last year, leaving many customers unable to get their money back, and Mr Bankman-Fried’s case turned into a referendum on the excesses of the volatile crypto industry.

Jurors have watched his trial for almost a month now and heard from witnesses, including some of Mr Bankman-Fried’s closest associates, who blamed him outright. Closing arguments were delivered Wednesday by federal prosecutor Nicolas Roos and Mr. Bankman-Fried’s lawyer, Mark Cohen. Another accuser, Danielle Sassoon, refuted Mr. Cohen’s comments on Thursday morning before the jury was instructed on the charges.

In his closing statements, Mr Roos reminded the jury of the evidence and testimony of witnesses who said Mr Bankman-Fried had instructed them to commit crimes. Mr. Cohen tried to portray his client as someone who acted in good faith but made mistakes. He also pointed out that the prosecution’s witnesses, some of whom have pleaded guilty in exchange for leniency, may have other motives.

Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, who is presiding over the case, appears eager to move the trial along as quickly as possible. He has held the trial on a number of Fridays, when the jury is usually open, and has been willing to hold the jurors after 4:30 p.m., when they are usually relieved.

Judge Kaplan said Thursday that the jury could stay until 8 p.m. and offered to provide food and transportation if they stayed that late.