Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in collapse of FTX crypto exchange

Former cryptocurrency billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced Thursday to 25 years behind bars for his function in perpetrating one of many largest monetary crimes in U.S. historical past.

Bankman-Fried, 32, was convicted in November of seven counts of fraud, conspiracy and cash laundering, together with different costs of conspiracy to commit commodities and securities fraud. 

Bankman-Fried confronted as much as 110 years beneath federal sentencing pointers, however prosecutors had referred to as for Decide Lewis Kaplan to condemn Bankman-Fried to between 40 and 50 years in jail for what they described as a “historic fraud.” Bankman-Fried’s attorneys had argued for a sentence of not more than six and a half years, saying he was unlikely to reoffend. 

On the listening to Thursday, Kaplan stated the 25-year sentence mirrored “that there’s a danger that this man will probably be in place to do one thing very unhealthy sooner or later. And it isn’t a trivial danger in any respect.” The choose added that it was “for the aim of disabling him to the extent that may appropriately be performed for a major time frame.”

Damian Williams, U.S. Lawyer for the Southern District of New York, stated that the sentence sends “an vital message to others who could be tempted to have interaction in monetary crimes that justice will probably be swift, and the results will probably be extreme.”

Attorneys for Bankman-Fried argued that their consumer by no means supposed to defraud clients, and that Decide Kaplan ought to subsequently present leniency. 

“Sam was not a ruthless monetary serial killer who set out each morning to harm individuals,” protection lawyer Marc Mukasey stated, Reuters reported. Mukasey described his consumer as an “awkward math nerd” who tried to return clients’ cash to them after FTX collapsed, in response to the report. 

Though Bankman-Fried is anticipated to attraction his conviction, former federal prosecutor Andrey Spektor stated there’s little probability that the decision can be reversed. “There may be nothing anybody can do about that,” Spektor stated, including that whereas Bankman-Fried might have acquired a fair lengthier sentence, “I do not assume SBF and his household are celebrating a 25-year time period.”

Some authorized specialists thought Bankman-Fried’s schooling {and professional} connections would convey a measure of leniency, whereas others anticipated a harsher sentence.

“I suppose I used to be considerably within the center. I noticed instantly that this time — and this crime — was totally different, that the choose was truly going to carry him accountable for his actions,” stated sAnat Alon-Beck, enterprise legislation professor at Case Western Reserve College. 

Alon-Beck in contrast Bankman-Fried’s sentence to that of disgraced Silicon Valley entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes, who’s serving a time period of 11.5 years in jail for defrauding buyers. “In SBF’s case, the sentence was greater than double,” Alon-Beck stated.

On the sentencing listening to, Bankman-Fried apologized to his former FTX colleagues, Reuters reported. “They put quite a lot of themselves into it, and I threw that every one away. It haunts me on a regular basis,” Bankman-Fried advised the choose, including, “I am sorry about that. I am sorry about what occurred at each stage. Issues I ought to have performed and stated, issues I should not have.”

Bankman-Fried’s conviction final fall adopted the startling 2022 collapse of FTX, the cryptocurrency buying and selling platform he had co-founded and led as CEO, amid an $8 billion shortfall in funds. At trial, he was accused of utilizing depositor cash to prop up his struggling hedge fund, in addition to of utilizing the funds purchase luxurious properties within the Caribbean and to make donations to a variety of causes.

FTX was as soon as the second-largest crypto alternate on the planet, permitting customers to purchase and promote dozens of digital currencies, whereas Bankman-Fried’s wealth was estimated at greater than $30 billion. Flush with billions of {dollars} of buyers’ money, Bankman-Fried took out a Tremendous Bowl commercial to advertise FTX and acquired the naming rights to an area utilized by the NBA’s Miami Warmth.

However the collapse of cryptocurrency costs in 2022 crippled FTX and finally led to its crash. FTX’s hedge fund affiliate, Alameda Analysis, had made billions of {dollars} in crypto investments that plunged in worth. Prosecutors stated Bankman-Fried tried to shore up Alameda’s steadiness sheet with FTX buyer funds.

Three former FTX associates testified towards Bankman-Fried after pleading responsible to associated crimes. They included Caroline Ellison, Bankman-Fried’s former romantic companion, who alleged that he had pressured her to commit fraud. 

—The Related Press contributed to this report.