Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison for his FTX crimes
Updated March 28, 2024 at 11:55 AM ET
25 years.
That's how long crypto wunderkind Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to prison on Thursday after being convicted of seven counts of fraud over the collapse of a crypto exchange that was once seen as a key players in the world of finance.
The sentence was delivered by Judge Lewis Kaplan in a Manhattan courtroom, who cautioned that Bankman-Fried "will be in a position to do something very bad in the future, and it's not a trivial risk."
Kaplan also chided Bankman-Fried for not showing remorse, according to CNN.
For his part, Bankman-Fried apologized in court for the collapse of FTX, although he did not admit fault.
"A lot of people feel really let down, and they were very let down, and I am sorry about that," Bankman-Fried told the court, according to CNN. "I am sorry about what happened at every stage. And there are things I should've done and things I shouldn't have."
It was a rare display of regret for Bankman-Fried who has consistently denied he engaged in fraud since the FTX's collapse.
Bankman Fried's conviction last year had marked a big fall for the 32-year old former CEO who once hobnobbed with celebrities like quarterback Tom Brady and shared stages with world leaders like former President Clinton.
Prosecutors had asked for 40 to 50 years in prison, while Bankman-Fried's lawyers had asked for far less.
Here's what to know about Bankman-Fried's sentencing and conviction.
What was Bankman-Fried convicted of?
Bankman-Fried was convicted of seven counts of fraud by a New York jury last year.
The charges broadly covered two categories: stealing the money of customers who put their money into FTX accounts and lying to investors and creditors.
All in all, at least $8 billion in customer funds were believed to have been stolen. Prosecutors argued the money was used to fuel a lavish and luxurious lifestyle in the Bahamas, as well as for other purposes, like political lobbying and investing in other companies.
What kind of sentencing did Bankman-Fried face?
Sentencing guidelines recommended that the disgraced crypto evangelist serve up to 110 years behind bars, though prosecutors asked for about half of that.
Meanwhile, Bankman-Fried's lawyers argued that their client should serve 63 to 78 months in prison.
Ultimately, the decision was up to Kaplan, a judge who has ruled in high-profile cases including most recently presiding over E. Jean Carroll's defamation case against former president Trump.
During the Bankman-Fried trial, Kaplan kept a strictly business approach, frequently admonishing the former FTX CEO's lawyers when he felt they were going on tangents unrelated to the case.
What were the factors Judge Kaplan considered?
At its heart Kaplan had to weigh this central question: Was Bankman-Fried a criminal mastermind or a young computer geek who simply got in over his head?
In their 116-page sentencing memo, prosecutors argued the former FTX head showed "unmatched greed and hubris" and that he gambled with other people's money."
"Justice requires that he receive a prison sentence commensurate with the extraordinary dimensions of his crimes," the prosecutors said in the memo.
Prosecutors also called Bankman-Fried's crimes "one of the largest financial frauds of all time."
Bankman-Fried's lawyers, however, had pushed back aggressively against the prosecutors sentence recommendation, saying it incorrectly paints the former FTX head as a "depraved super villain."
Lawyers had also argued Bankman-Fried suffers from autism and "neurodiversity" issues.
"He can be perceived as abrupt, dismissive, evasive, detached or uncaring," the lawyers wrote in their sentencing memo.
In asking for leniency, Bankman-Fried's lawyers have also argued that customers and creditors are likely to be paid eventually in full.
During the sentencing hearing on Thursday, Marc Mukasey, Bankman-Fried's lawyer, said his client was not a "ruthless financial serial killer who set out every morning to hurt people."
"His real motivations were misapprehended and misunderstood," Mukasey said, according to CNN.
"Really he's an awkward math nerd," he added. "He loves video games and veganism, and he's compassionate to animals
A lot of FTX holdings were held in cryptocurrencies, which have a staged a huge rebound this year, as well as in stakes of other companies that are in the process of being sold off.
Prosecutors, however, have underscored that Bankman-Fried stole customers funds, and presented letters from people around the world detailing how much the loss of their crypto holdings in FTX had hurt them, both personally and financially. [Copyright 2024 NPR]
