Archegos founder and CFO found guilty of fraud, market manipulation

Zoom in: A jury in federal court in Manhattan rendered its verdict after a swift deliberation process, finding Hwang guilty on 10 of 11 criminal charges, including securities fraud and market manipulation.

• Halligan was found guilty on all three counts that he faced — securities and wire fraud and racketeering conspiracy.
• "By 2021, the defendants' lies and manipulation had ensnared nearly a dozen stocks and half of Wall Street in a $100 billion fraud, a fraud that came crashing down in a matter of days," Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Thomas told jurors during closing arguments on Tuesday.

The other side: In his closing, Hwang's defense lawyer, Barry Berke, argued that prosecutors were criminalizing aggressive but legal trading methods, per Reuters.

Flashback: The March 2021 implosion of the hedge fund-like Archegos was one for the ages, hurting banks like Morgan Stanley, Nomura and Credit Suisse, Axios has previously reported.

• One of the massive bets gone wrong involved tens of millions of shares of the former ViacomCBS.

• After the stock tanked during the week of March 22, Hwang refused bankers' pleas to sell, prompting Morgan Stanley then Goldman Sachs and others to start dumping holdings.
• Credit Suisse, now owned by UBS due in part to its role in fueling Archegos' risky investments, suffered some of the steepest losses at roughly $5.5 billion.

What we're watching: Both Hwang and Halligan face up to 20 years in prison for each convicted charge.

• U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein set Oct. 28 as the date for sentencing.