Sam Bankman-Fried tops a long list of crypto hot shots facing legal reckoning

In this courtroom sketch, Sam Bankman Fried's parents Barbara Fried, left, and Joseph Bankman react to the jury verdict in Manhattan federal court. — AP

Jurors in New York found Sam Bankman-Fried guilty of engaging in a massive fraud related to the collapse of his FTX crypto exchange. Bankman-Fried’s arrest last December, weeks after his exchange filed for bankruptcy, marked a dramatic escalation in the efforts by regulators and prosecutors to rein in what they perceive as excesses in the industry.

His case was far from the first – or last – time that crypto founders and executives found themselves in legal hot water related to their digital-asset activities.