Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison after being found guilty of fraud in connection with the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
Bankman-Fried was charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, securities fraud, money laundering and campaign finance law violations in December 2022. The then-30-year-old allegedly defrauded millions of investors through FTX crypto schemes, including using client investments of $8 million to finance collateral investments and repay debt.
In November 2023—after a trial that featured shocking testimony from ex-girlfriend/co-conspirator Caroline Ellison as well as evasive testimony from Bankman-Fried himself in his own defense—SBF was convicted of the federal charges, which imposed penalty of up to 115 years in prison.
Before sentencing, Bankman-Fried addressed the court and said the FTX collapse “haunts him every day.” “A lot of people feel really disappointed, and they were very disappointed, and I'm sorry for that.” he said. “I am sorry for what happened at every stage. And there are things I should have done and things I shouldn't have done.”
Added SBF before sentencing (via CNN), “My useful life is probably over. It's been over for a while now.”
His lawyer, Marc Mukasey, told the judge: “Sam was not a ruthless financial serial killer who set out every morning to hurt people. His true motives were misunderstood and misunderstood. Really, he's an awkward math nerd.”
But prosecutor Nicholas Roos argued: “Sam Bankman-Fried stole more than $8 billion in client money, and I emphasize that he stole because it was not a liquidity crisis, or active mismanagement, or poor oversight from the top. It wasn't a bloodless economic loss on paper.
While the U.S. Probation Office supported the 100-year sentence, federal prosecutors recommended the judge sentence him to 40 to 50 years in prison, as well as an $11 billion judgment. To make their case for the multi-year sentence, prosecutors cited the SBF's list of “bad ideas” to support FTX's collapse.
Seeking a lighter sentence, SBF lawyers – who had pushed for a six-and-a-half-year sentence as a first-time, non-violent offender – called prosecutors' recommendations “nondescript” and argued that Bankman-Fried's social awkwardness makes him a danger in a prison environment. At sentencing Thursday, Judge Kaplan finally issued the 25 years in prison, adding that Bankman-Fried committed both witness tampering and perjury while on trial. The judge also ordered the forfeiture of $11 billion.
Once the world's third largest crypto exchange, FTX collapsed days after balance sheets related to Bankman-Fried's investment firm Alameda Research were leaked. The outcome revealed the extent of the stock market's financial insolvency and led to allegations that Bankman-Fried used FTX client investments to pay off debts and make collateral investments and contributions, moving funds without proper disclosure and oversight.
In December 2022, Ellison — CEO of private hedge fund Alameda Research, which is owned by Bankman-Fried — pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud on customers of FTX, wire fraud on customers of FTX, conspiracy to commit wire fraud at Alameda Research Lenders Research and bank fraud at Alameda Research Lenders, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. To avoid a lengthy prison sentence, Ellison testified against Bankman-Fried.
FTX co-founder Gary Wang also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud on FTX customers, wire fraud on FTX customers, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud. Like Ellison, he faced decades in prison before agreeing to testify against Bankman-Fried.
from our partners at https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/sam-bankman-fried-sentenced-prison-ftx-fraud-trial-1234995536/
