Sam Bankman Fried, founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison by a New York judge for orchestrating the theft of $8 billion from FTX clients.
🚨 BREAKING: Judge sentences Sam Bankman Fried to 25 years in prison for multi-billion dollar FTX scam pic.twitter.com/M9HotmBma2
– Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) March 28, 2024
The ruling, handed down by US District Judge Lewis Kaplan, follows Bankman-Fried's conviction on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy related to the collapse of FTX in 2022. Judge Kaplan rejected Bankman-Fried's claims that clients did not lose money and accused him of lying during the trial.
During the sentencing hearing, Bankman-Fried attempted to express remorse for the losses suffered by FTX customers, saying he was “sorry for what happened.” However, Judge Kaplan emphasized the seriousness of the crime, noting that FTX clients lost $8 billion, equity investors lost $1.7 billion, and lenders to Bankman-Fried's hedge fund lost $1.3 billion.
The judge also criticized Bankman-Fried's dishonesty during the trial, particularly regarding his knowledge of the misappropriation of client funds. Federal prosecutors had asked for a much longer sentence, highlighting the scale and impact of the financial fraud.
Bankman-Fried's meteoric rise in the cryptocurrency industry collapsed with the discovery of FTX's widespread embezzlement scheme, in which its fraudulent actions led to significant losses for investors and clients. Many believe this 25-year sentence is unfair, as Judge Kaplan said today before the official sentencing, “I limit my findings of obstruction to support the finding – there may be more. The overall crime level is 60 – once you get past 43, it's ok.” It can't be higher than that. The guideline is life imprisonment. But the maximum is 1,320 months in this case.”
Edward Snowden, the famous whistleblower and cybersecurity expert, commented on the news, saying: “He gave him less than Chelsea Manning (35 years old) for committing a much worse crime.”
The FTX founder was also the second largest individual donor to the Democratic Party in the 2021/2022 election cycle (donating over $39,800,000).
