Disgraced cryptocurrency prodigy Sam Bankman Freed was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Thursday. It's a stunning fall for a man who less than two years ago seemed poised to lead an emerging sector.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan said the defendant, known by his initials “SBF,” showed no “true remorse” even in his final statements before sentencing, and blamed the former billionaire for a “series of bad sentences.” However, he said he actually regretted it. Do not admit to intentionally violating financial laws.
Bankman-Freed said, “Although I made a mistake, I have never expressed a single word of remorse for having committed such a horrific crime.'' She characterized the offense as “brazen,'' and added that the defendant's commitment to the truth was “extraordinary.'' He praised his flexibility.
Kaplan was sentenced to 25 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release. The defendants were also ordered to pay $11 billion, which Mr. Kaplan calculated reflected the amount of money Bankman Freed effectively stole from other parties.
Thursday's verdict followed a November 2023 conviction by a federal jury in New York of Bankman Freed, which once graced the cover of a financial magazine and financed a flashy TV ad for the 2022 Super Bowl.
The Justice Department praised the sentence, although it was lower than the 40 to 50 years the government had sought.
U.S. Attorney Damien Williams said: “Today's sentence…is an important reminder to those who commit financial crimes that justice will be swift, but the consequences will be harsh.” It's a message.”
Bankman-Fried's parents, Stanford law professors Joseph Bankman and Barbara Freed, said in a statement: “We are heartbroken and will continue to fight for our son.” .
Bankman Fried rose to the top of the crypto world, becoming a billionaire before the age of 30 and building FTX, a small startup he co-founded in 2019, into the world's second-largest exchange platform.
However, in November 2022, it was discovered that billions of dollars had been illegally transferred from FTX to Bankman Freed's personal hedge fund, Alameda Research, leading to a flood of customer withdrawals and Bankman Freed's The incredible rise has come crashing down.
In court remarks, defense attorney Mark Mukasey characterized Bankman Fried as an “awkward math geek” with good intentions, rather than a ruthless figure like notorious pyramid scheme operator Bernie Madoff. I attached it.
“While clearly a serious crime, Sam was not a financial serial killer intent on hurting people,” Mukasey said.
During the hearing, Bankman Fried expressed regret over the company's demise, which also affected many of his colleagues.
They “created something beautiful,” Bankman Fried said. “And I threw everything away. It haunts me every day. I made a series of bad decisions.”
Bankman Fried said she is distressed that FTX victims have not received compensation, adding, “It begs the question of why they are not being compensated.”
But federal prosecutor Nicholas Luce, speaking after Bankman Fried, said the defendant continues to downplay his crimes and that the impact is “not just a bloodless financial loss on paper.” It pointed out.
Ruth described the “imminent” financial harm to FTX victims, including one Portuguese investor whose daughter was born the day before FTX's collapse and a retired couple forced to return to work.
Mr. Kaplan agreed with the government's main arguments.
The judge opened the hearing by rejecting the defense's efforts to persuade the court to consider the billions of dollars worth of recoveries from the FTX bankruptcy a reduction in the scale of the fraud.
Kaplan accused Bankman-Fried of witness tampering and listed at least three specific instances in which Bankman-Fried gave false testimony.
“When he wasn't outright lying, he was often evasive and evasive to the extent that he was appalling,” Kaplan said of Bankman-Fried's testimony.
The Justice Department had developed its sentencing recommendation in part because of the risk that Mr. Bankman-Fried would commit further fraud if released early.
Mr. Kaplan agreed that Bankman-Fried's release posed a risk, although he did not reach the end of the government's sentence.
Bankman Freed said, “Mistakes were made. There were other people to blame. The bankrupts messed up,” Kaplan said. “It doesn't take much imagination to get the gist” of another story.
“But there's a risk that this man could be in a position to do something very bad, and that's not a trivial risk,” Kaplan said, adding that a long sentence would be enough to “neutralize” Bankman-Fried. said it was necessary.
