Hayes Libor Verdict Shows ‘Everyone Did It’ Is Still No Defense

Tom Hayes isn’t the first criminal to argue that everyone knew about his financial shenanigans. But a unanimous guilty verdict has once again shown the fallacy of the well-trodden defense.

Hayes was found guilty of all eight counts of conspiracy to manipulate the London interbank offered rate and sentenced to 14 years in prison Monday after a week of deliberations by the jury. His lawyers argued he acted like his peers and with the full knowledge of employers who never tried to stop him.