Sam Bankman-Fried sentencing: FTX founder faces as much as 110 years in jail for fraud

Sam Bankman-Fried, the previous billionaire entrepreneur who based the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency firm FTX, will seem in a Manhattan federal court docket at present to be sentenced on a slew of fraud and conspiracy expenses.

Simply 4 months in the past, a jury decided that Bankman-Fried, 32, had lied to FTX traders, lenders and prospects and used their cash to construct himself up because the “King of Crypto”.

He was convicted on a complete of seven expenses: two counts of fraud and 5 counts of conspiracy.

On Thursday, Bankman-Fried will return to court docket the place District Choose Lewis Kaplan will hand down a sentence of as much as 110 years in jail,

Federal prosecutors have requested Choose Kaplan to condemn him to between 40 and 50 years. Bankman-Fried’s legal professionals in the meantime have pushed again on that, saying not more than 6.5 years is suitable given he’s a non-violent first offender.

Choose Kaplan will weigh either side’s opinion in addition to any supplemental letters or statements from victims of Bankman-Fried’s crimes or from individuals who know Bankman-Fried personally. Different elements such because the probability Bankman-Fried would reoffend, his present well being and psychological wellness in addition to his age will come into play.

Lower than two years in the past, Bankman-Fried was on prime of the cryptocurrency world because the younger however inspiring chief of FTX, the crypto alternate and hedge fund with multiple million customers – together with a slew of well-known faces.

At its peak, FTX was value $32bn.

However every little thing got here tumbling down, primarily in a single day, in November 2022 after a regarding report by CoinDesk revealed {that a} majority of FTX’s property have been held by a quantitive buying and selling firm that Bankman-Fried additionally ran referred to as Alameda Analysis.

The report led to an enormous rush of consumers trying to withdraw their funds from FTX, inflicting one other drawback: an $8bn gap within the firm.

Bankman-Fried’s private wealth, which he usually touted as getting used for altruistic issues, sharply fell and he was quickly arrested.

All through his trial final yr, federal prosecutors offered a jury with a mountain of proof that exposed that, behind-the-scenes, Bankman-Fried had unhealthy intentions in purposefully swindling traders, prospects and lenders to develop FTX and his wealth.

Former executives attested to the horrible mismanagement of the corporate and testified that Bankman-Fried hatched plans to mislead traders and prospects.

In the meantime, Bankman-Fried’s legal professionals got down to make the previous crypto head seem unintentionally misguided in managing the corporate.

Following the jury’s choice in November, Bankman-Fried appealed the choice. The enchantment continues to be ongoing.