Former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried will serve 25 years in prison following a sentencing hearing in federal court.
On March 28, Judge Lewis Kaplan of United States District Court for the Southern District of New York sentenced Bankman-Fried to 240 months and 60 months for a total of 25 years for his conviction on seven felony charges. SBF was the first person tied to FTX and Alameda Research to face prison time following the collapse of the exchange in November 2022.
Judge Kaplan found that SBF also committed witness tampering based on the events that led him to revoke bail in August 2023 and perjury based on his testimony at trial over FTX user funds. He acknowledged Bankman-Fried’s “social awkwardness” but said, based on former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison’s testimony, SBF knew he was at fault but was “not going to admit a thing.”
“Punishment must fit the seriousness of the crime,” said Judge Kaplan. “And this. Was. A. Serious. Crime [...] When not lying, [Bankman-Fried] was evasive, hair splitting, trying to get the prosecutors to rephrase questions for him. I’ve been doing this job for close for 30 years. I’ve never seen a performance like that.”
The judge also suggested an $11-billion judgment in addition to SBF’s prison time. He said FTX investors lost $1.7 billion, lenders lost $1.3 billion, and customers lost $8 billion.
According to Inner City Press reporter Matthew Lee, the New York courtroom was packed with members of the public and officials before the U.S. Marshals brought out Bankman-Fried. The former FTX CEO was reportedly wearing light brown clothes — the uniform of the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where he has stayed since the judge revoked his bail.
“I reject the defense’s argument about loss, both on the law and on the facts,” said Judge Kaplan, according to Inner City Press. “The assertion that customers and creditors will be paid in full is misleading — defendants equate loss with dollar volume in the bankruptcy case.”
The judge added:
“A fortuitous run-up in the value of some cryptocurrencies bears no relation to the gravity of the crimes that were committed. A thief who takes his loot to Las Vegas and successfully bets is not entitled to a sentencing reduction.”
Before the judge announced the sentence, Bankman-Fried said he was “sorry about what happened at every stage,” claiming that “FTX would have survived” if it hadn't been shut down. In a final statement, his attorneys seemingly portrayed the former FTX CEO as a misunderstood genius:
“Sam was not a ruthless financial serial killer. He wasn’t predatory. He makes decisions with math in his head, not malice in his heart.”
Sunil Kavuri, a U.K. national who flew in from London for the sentencing hearing, testified that he had “suffered for two years” after the collapse of FTX. Kavuri addressed the court on behalf of other FTX victims, pushing back against the narrative that the “loss was zero” based on the exchange’s plans for repayment.
“If Mr. Bankman-Fried thought mathematics justified it, he’d do it again,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas Roos. He added there was “no acceptance of responsibility” from the former CEO.
Related: Which crypto figures might be going to prison in 2024?
Judge Kaplan’s sentence essentially split the difference between recommendations from SBF’s attorneys and prosecutors, who argued for a maximum of 6.5 and 50 years, respectively. Many experts predicted Judge Kaplan would impose a sentence of between 10 to 30 years based on the facts of the case and the amount of funds involved.
Gary Wang, Caroline Ellison, Nishad Singh and Ryan Salame — four other individuals associated with FTX and Alameda charged in the same case as SBF — have pleaded guilty and accepted deals. Salame, the former co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, was the only one of the four to not testify at Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial. He will likely be the next to face sentencing on May 1.
Magazine: ‘Less flashy’ Mashinsky set for less jail time than SBF: Inner City Press, X Hall of Flame