This morning we reported that disgraced crypto magnate Sam Bankman-Fried was due to be sentenced in New York this morning, with the Prosecution looking for between a 40-50 year term and SBF’s defense team arguing a five-year term would be more acceptable.
The judge meanwhile had the ability to lock up Bankman-Fried and effectively throw away the key with a 110-year sentence but has just issued a 25-year sentence for his part in the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange.
Bankman-Fried was found guilty by the jury after just over five hours of deliberation last November.
Bankman-Frieds’ FTX had a $10 billion black hole in its accounts after money belonging to customers was used to make risky bets on crypto. A scheme that was to go horribly wrong.
FTX was valued at $32bn before it went bankrupt with Sam Bankman-Fried crafting an image that drew in celebrities, politicians, and business titans, according to the BBC.
Bankman-Fried’s victims remain out of pocket and while they may get some losses back, it is unlikely everybody will come out of the scandal unscathed.
Prosecutors described Bankman-Fried’s crimes as one of the biggest financial frauds in the history of the United States.
Handing down the sense Judge Lewis Kaplan said that despite “protestations of sorrow” about customer losses there was “never a word of remorse for the commission of terrible crimes”.
The judge refused to accept Bankman-Fried’s claim that his victims would be paid back in full as “misleading and logically flawed”.
“A thief who takes his loot to Las Vegas and successfully bets the stolen money is not entitled to a discount on the sentence by using his Las Vegas winnings to pay back what he stole.”
Earlier today Bankman-Friend took the stand and, while stopping short of a full apology said he had made a series of bad decisions that haunt him every day.
