FTX co-founder Gary Wang, scheduled to be sentenced for his role in the criminal misuse of funds at the defunct cryptocurrency exchange, could receive time served after a sentencing memo filed by the United States government.
In a Nov. 13 filing in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, prosecutors penned a sentencing memo to highlight Wang’s “substantial assistance in the investigation of wrongdoing at FTX, the prosecution and trial of Bankman-Fried, and in other matters.” The FTX co-founder is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 20, following a December 2022 guilty plea for wire fraud, commodities fraud, and securities fraud.
Source: SDNY
Lawyers for the US government pointed to “crucial testimony” the FTX co-founder provided at the criminal trial of former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who was found guilty and sentenced to 25 years in prison. They also suggested that, should Judge Lewis Kaplan impose a sentence of time served, Wang could be to develop “a tool for detection of potential illegal activity in cryptocurrency markets.”
“Wang’s testimony was truthful and was corroborated by other evidence,” said prosecutors. “From his first meeting, Wang took responsibility for his involvement in the fraud on FTX’s customers. While there were several parts of the fraud that Wang was not involved in, he immediately took responsibility for his conduct and pled guilty for his involvement in crimes.”
FTX criminal and bankruptcy cases nearing an end
Wang would be the fifth and final FTX or Alameda Research executive to stand before a judge for sentencing. Bankman-Fried was the only party to stick with a not-guilty plea, while former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison and former FTX Digital Markets co-CEO Ryan Salame pleaded guilty. All three individuals are currently in federal prison.
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In October, Judge Kaplan sentenced former FTX engineering director Nishad Singh to time served. The US government filed a memo similar to that of Wang’s, detailing Singh’s “substantial assistance” and “exemplary cooperation,” suggesting a lenient sentence. Singh has been the only individual in the case to not receive prison time.
FTX collapsed in November 2022 amid a liquidity crisis at the crypto exchange. At the time of publication, users had not reported being repaid for their funds locked at roughly the time the firm declared bankruptcy, but a court signed off on a reorganization plan in October.
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