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Crypto billionaire and scammer, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), who is the founder of Once an Empire FTX, is going to spend 25 years in prison.
A judge has sentenced former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) to 291 months in prison and an $11 billion judgment for perjury and witness tampering. He was reportedly apologetic at the hearing. Four other individuals associated with FTX and Alameda have pleaded guilty and accepted deals.
Judge Kaplan Found SBF Guilty
Judge Kaplan found Sam Bankman guilty of witness tampering and perjury, leading to his bail revocation in August 2023. The former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison testified that SBF knew his fault but refused to accept it.
Judge Kaplan acknowledged Bankman-Fried’s social awkwardness, but he believed that the punishment must fit the seriousness of the crime. Furthermore, he stated that it was a serious crime and had never seen such a performance.
A Judgement Worth $11 Billion
According to a docket entry for the Southern District of New York on March 28, Judge Kaplan would subtract SBF’s time served from his sentence, which would be 291 months in prison. Additionally, Judge Kaplan recommended an $11-billion judgment, stating that FTX investors lost $1.7 billion, lenders lost $1.3 billion, and customers lost more than more than $8 billion.
In the New York courtroom, members of the public and officials were present before the U.S. Marshals brought out Bankman-Fried. Judge Kaplan rejected the defense’s argument about loss, stating that defendants equate loss with dollar volume in the bankruptcy case.
The judge stated that a fortuitous run-up in the value of some cryptocurrencies bears no relation to the severity of the crimes committed. The defense’s claim that customers and creditors would be paid in full was misleading.
SBF is a ‘misunderstood genius’: Defendant Lawers
Before the sentence was announced, Bankman-Fried apologized at every stage and claimed that FTX would have survived if it hadn’t been shut down. However, his lawyers described him as a ‘misunderstood genius’ who makes decisions with math in his head.
According to defense lawyer Marc Mukasey, SBF was not a ruthless financial serial killer who set out every morning to hurt people. He described his client as an awkward math nerd who tried to return customers’ money to them after FTX collapsed.
Sunil Kavuri, a U.K. national, testified on behalf of other FTX victims, pushing back against the narrative that the loss was zero based on the exchange’s plans for repayment.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas Roos stated that Bankman-Fried had no acceptance of responsibility. Judge Kaplan’s sentence was between the recommendations from SBF’s attorneys and prosecutors, who argued for a maximum of 6.5 and 50 years, respectively.
Gary Wang, Caroline Ellison, Nishad Singh, and Ryan Salame, four other individuals associated with FTX and Alameda charged in the same case as SBF pleaded guilty and accepted deals. Only Salame did not testify at Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial, and he will likely be the next to face sentencing on May 1.
Summary
Judge Kaplan rejected the defense’s argument about loss and sentenced Bankman to prison. SBF apologized and claimed that FTX would have survived if it hadn’t been shut down, but his lawyers described him as a ‘misunderstood genius’ who makes decisions with math in his head.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions stated by the author or any people named in this article are for informational purposes only. They do not establish financial, investment, or other advice. Investing in or trading in stocks, cryptos, or other related indexes comes with a risk of financial loss.
Adarsh Singh is a true connoisseur of Defi and Blockchain technologies, who left his job at a “Big 4” multinational finance firm to pursue crypto and NFT trading full-time. He has a strong background in finance, with MBA from a prestigious B-school. He delves deep into these innovative fields, unraveling their intricacies. Uncovering hidden gems, be it coins, tokens or NFTs, is his expertise. NFTs drive deep interest for him, and his creative analysis of NFTs opens up engaging narratives. He strives to bring decentralized digital assets accessible to the masses.
