Sam Bankman-Fried has been sentenced after being found guilty in November for his role in the 2022 collapse of former cryptocurrency giant FTX. Ultimately, the 32-year-old was sentenced to 25 years for his crimes, on the low end of expectations.
Though he faced 110 years in prison, prosecutors recommended a sentence of between 40 and 50 years for the disgraced entrepreneur.
"The defendant victimized tens of thousands of people and companies, across several continents, over a period of multiple years,” prosecutors wrote to Judge Lewis A. Kaplan in a court filing, going on to innumerate Bankman Fried’s offenses.
“He stole money from customers who entrusted it to him; he lied to investors; he sent fabricated documents to lenders; he pumped millions of dollars in illegal donations into our political system; and he bribed foreign officials,” they wrote.
The defense was asking for a much more lenient sentence of between four and six years. They maintained that Bankman-Fried was a non-violent offender unlikely to repeat his crimes.
Bankman-Fried, who's been detained in Brooklyn since being found guilty three months ago, arrived in court just before the sentencing hearing began at 9:30 a.m. Thursday. His parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, were also in attendance.
Before handing down the convicted's fate, Judge Kaplan announced that he was increasing the sentencing guidelines after finding three instances of "willful" perjury in Bankman-Fried's testimony. Kaplan also said Bankman-Fried's texts to a former FTX lawyer constituted "attempted witness tampering."
Christopher Zoukis, owner of a firm which prepares federal inmates for prison, told The Daily Mail that Bankman-Fried will likely end up in a West Coast institution.
FTX allowed its users to buy many different types of digital currency, from Bitcoin to lesser-known varieties like Shiba Inu Coin. Bankman-Fried took the billions of dollars investors pumped into the once-promising company and used it to purchase ample Super Bowl ad space, as well as the naming rights to Miami’s Kaseya Center.
The scandal surrounding FTX’s collapse, and Bankman-Fried’s deception, caused massive headaches for FTX’s assortment of celebrity spokespersons.
Tom Brady, who was paid an astonishing $55 million for 20 hours of work as a brand ambassador, was named in a class action lawsuit alongside his ex-wife, Gisele Bündchen, who was paid almost $20 million in a similar role. Steph Curry, who accepted $35 million for a three-year contract, as well as comedian Larry David, who was paid $10 million to star in FTX’s buzzy Super Bowl spot, were also named in the suit.
