The jury took a little over four hours to reach a verdict. When Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, the defendant\u2019s parents, came into the courtroom, they looked frightened. Bankman put his arm around Fried as they sat down on the wooden benches. Fried put her head in her hands.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Sam Bankman-Fried stood to hear the jury\u2019s verdict. After the first \u201cguilty\u201d was read aloud \u2014\u00a0for wire fraud \u2014 his father doubled over. His mother\u2019s hands rose to cover much of her face, either to stifle tears or to hide them. As the judge thanked the jury for their service, Barbara Fried recovered herself enough to gently rub Joseph Bankman\u2019s back.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The jury left, and the courtroom rose. Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried had their arms around each other as though they were holding each other up. As the judge dealt with a few administrative matters \u2014 dates for appeals, the next trial, sentencing \u2014 Fried stared up at the ceiling.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
When the judge left the bench, Bankman and Fried moved closer to their son, still separated by a wooden barrier in the courtroom. They were ringed by a half-moon of reporters, all silent, all holding pens over notebooks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Bankman-Fried\u2019s back was to his parents. He was talking to his lawyers, Mark Cohen and Chris Everdell. He appeared to be shaking. He did not look back to see his parents until he was being escorted out. As he glanced back, Fried crumpled, and her husband steadied her.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
There are some questions about how much Bankman and Fried knew about the schemes at FTX. But there is no doubt in my mind that they truly suffered through the month-long trial. Whatever delusions they may have had about their son\u2019s innocence dissipated over the course of the trial. By the end, I think they knew how this was going to go. I think Bankman-Fried did too.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
He knew that if he went to trial, there was a chance, however small, that he might walk away a free man<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
I have been wondering since opening statements why Bankman-Fried didn\u2019t simply plead guilty. Sure, he might not get a deal like his co-conspirators, Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, and Nishad Singh. But pleading guilty, showing himself to be sorry, and throwing himself on the mercy of a sentencing judge \u2014\u00a0well, it could have played. At minimum, it would have spared his friends and family the humiliation of this trial.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
I suppose it\u2019s possible that Bankman-Fried is delusional enough to believe himself innocent, to think he did nothing wrong, and to think a jury would agree with him. But given what else I know about him, I don\u2019t think that\u2019s what happened.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Sam Bankman-Fried loved risk, and he loved to gamble. He knew that if he went to trial, there was a chance, however small, that he might walk away a free man. Pleading guilty meant guaranteed punishment, and probably prison time. And so he chose to gamble, not only with his own life, but with his parents\u2019.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Bankman and Fried were respected law professors at Stanford. Bankman worked on the US tax code, on behalf of low-income people. Fried is known for her work on legal ethics, and ran a donor network, Mind the Gap, for Democratic causes. Their FTX entanglement has certainly marred their reputation at the end of their lives \u2014 that $26 million in cash and real estate in 2022 looks very different<\/em> now. This is to say nothing of the lawsuit from the FTX bankruptcy estate, which seeks to claw back millions.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Bankman and Fried have been vocal in their son\u2019s defense, as I assume any loving parent would be<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Bankman-Fried\u2019s failed defense wasn\u2019t cheap \u2014\u00a0lawyers never are. And there will be more bills, as his lawyers seek to appeal the verdict. There may also be a second trial, scheduled for next March, for some other counts that were severed from this case.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n