U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan tore into FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried during his sentencing hearing on Thursday, blasting the convicted fraudster as a remorseless, serial liar who had perjured himself on the stand and attempted to commit witness tampering. Kaplan then sentenced Bankman-Fried to 25 years in prison, capping a stunning downfall for the former public face of crypto.
Bankman-Fried, who was convicted on seven fraud and conspiracy counts in November, has been locked up since August, when Kaplan got fed up with his pretrial antics and remanded him into custody.
During Thursday’s hearing, Kaplan said that Bankman-Fried had delivered an unprecedentedly poor performance on the witness stand. “He knew [his conduct] was wrong. He knew it was criminal,” Kaplan added, according to Courthouse News. “He regrets that he made a very bad bet about the likelihood of being caught, but he’s never going to admit to doing a thing.”
