FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried's fate now lies in the hands of a jury as deliberations began on Thursday in the Manhattan federal court. Bankman-Fried is facing charges of fraud in the disappearance of billions of dollars from his customers' accounts on the cryptocurrency exchange he created four years ago. The jury will consider seven charges lodged against the MIT graduate and son of Stanford University law professors. Bankman-Fried, who testified during the monthlong trial, maintained his innocence, claiming that he did not defraud thousands of investors worldwide. However, the bankruptcy of FTX in November 2022 cast a shadow over the crypto industry, leading to the collapse of other major players and erasing billions of dollars in client wealth.

Bankman-Fried, who was extradited from the Bahamas to New York to face the fraud charges, has been in jail since August. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan ruled that he had attempted to influence potential trial witnesses and could no longer be free on bond. Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon delivered a rebuttal argument on Thursday, describing Bankman-Fried as always wanting more money from his customers to spend on gaining influence and power. Sassoon accused Bankman-Fried of lying and hiding the fact that he was stealing from FTX customers while promising them that their money was safe.

Bankman-Fried's defense attorney, Mark Cohen, argued in his closing statement that his client may have been slow to act when it became clear that Alameda Research could not restore the borrowed funds from FTX. Cohen maintained that Bankman-Fried believed Alameda had sufficient assets to cover its liabilities. He urged the jurors to consider Bankman-Fried's testimony, emphasizing that mistakes happen in the real world and do not constitute a crime.

In a closing argument, prosecutor Nicolas Roos urged the jury to follow the overwhelming evidence and the "pyramid of deceit" constructed by Bankman-Fried. Roos accused Bankman-Fried of stealing billions of dollars from investors worldwide and spending the money on real estate, donations, investments, and political contributions. He labeled Bankman-Fried's actions as a "pyramid of deceit" built on lies and false promises. Roos highlighted the testimonies of four former executives who claimed that Bankman-Fried was responsible for stealing the customers' money.

Bankman-Fried's testimony, which spanned four days, was summarized by his defense lawyer and prosecutors before the jury began deliberating. Bankman-Fried maintained his innocence, stating that he was unaware of the disappearance of customer funds until weeks before the collapse of his companies. However, Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon relentlessly questioned Bankman-Fried about his knowledge of the missing funds and whether he was honest with FTX customers. Sassoon pressed Bankman-Fried on why he did not follow up on the $8 billion in liabilities to FTX customer funds and mocked his claim of not knowing about the spending until later. Bankman-Fried expressed regret for not investigating further but insisted that he did not have criminal intent.

If convicted of the seven counts of fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering, Bankman-Fried faces a potential prison term of over a century. The jury was expected to begin deliberations on Thursday.