[JURIST] Canadian-born financier and former media mogul Conrad Black [JURIST news archive; CBC profile] was convicted of mail fraud and obstruction of justice by a Chicago jury Friday after twelve days of deliberations that included a deadlock [JURIST report]. His conviction on three counts could lead to a maximum sentence of 35 years in prison, and fines of up to $1 million. Black, now a British peer, was found not guilty on separate charges of racketeering, wire fraud, and tax evasion. Co-defendants Jack Boultbee, Mark Kipnis, and Peter Atkinson were also convicted on the mail fraud charges, and face up to 15 years in prison each, with fines of up to $750,000. Judge Amy St. Eve [official profile] of the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois [official website] will sentence the men November 30.

Black, former chairman of Hollinger International [corporate website], faced 17 counts of fraud, obstruction of justice, racketeering and tax evasion. He was accused [indictment, PDF] by the US government of diverting more than $80 million from the company and its shareholders [JURIST report] during Hollinger's $2.1 billion sale of several hundred Canadian newspapers. CBC News has more. The Financial Times has additional coverage.