Archegos founder Bill Hwang convicted at criminal trial over fund's collapse

Archegos Capital Management founder Sung Kook "Bill" Hwang was convicted of fraud and other charges by a jury in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday at a criminal trial in which prosecutors accused him of market manipulation ahead of the 2021 collapse of his $36 billion private investment firm.

The jury, which began deliberations on Tuesday, found Hwang guilty on 10 of 11 criminal counts and Patrick Halligan, his Archegos deputy and co-defendant, guilty on all three counts he faced. Hwang and Halligan sat flanked by their lawyers as the verdict was read by a soft-spoken foreperson.

The Archegos meltdown sent shock waves across Wall Street and drew regulatory scrutiny on three continents. Prosecutors have said Hwang and Halligan lied to banks in order to obtain billions of dollars that they used to artificially pump up the stock prices of multiple publicly traded companies. The trial began in May.

Hwang, 60, had pleaded not guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy, three counts of fraud and seven counts of market manipulation. Halligan, 47, had pleaded not guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy and two counts of fraud. Halligan was the chief financial officer at Archegos.

They now face maximum sentences of 20 years in prison on each charge for which they were convicted, though any sentence would likely be much lower and would be imposed by the judge based on a range of factors.

When the charges were brought in 2022, the U.S. Justice Department called the case an example of its commitment to hold accountable people who distort and defraud U.S. financial markets.

Jurors heard closing arguments on Tuesday.

The trial centered on the implosion of Hwang's family office Archegos, which inflicted $10 billion in losses at