A court artist’s depiction shows Sam Bankman-Fried during the court hearing. Elizabeth Williams via AP
Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Thursday.
Before the verdict was announced, the fallen crypto king admitted that he had “failed” and apologized.
He expressed remorse for his former colleagues at his now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
This is a machine translation of an article from our US colleagues at Business Insider. It was automatically translated and checked by a real editor.
Fallen cryptocurrency king Sam Bankman-Fried spoke in a Manhattan federal courtroom on Thursday ahead of his sentencing to 25 years behind bars and apologized to FTX customers who lost their life savings. He also apologized to his former employees who followed him “above the earth” before he abandoned them.
“There was something really beautiful about all of them,” Bankman-Fried said, referring to the fallen cryptocurrency exchange. “They got involved and I threw everything away. This haunts me every day.” Bankman-Fried appeared more subdued than during his trial in October. He spoke cautiously, pausing occasionally as he addressed U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan.
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“My useful life is probably over. “It’s probably been over for a while, even before my arrest,” said Sam Bankman-Fried. Before his remarks, he listened to testimony from two people – former FTX client Sunil Kavuri and Adam M. Moskowitz, an attorney involved in a class action lawsuit against Bankman-Fried and other former executives. “I lived the FTX nightmare every day for two years,” Kavuri said. Moskowitz, meanwhile, asked the judge to consider Bankman-Fried’s cooperation in the recovery.
The 32-year-old co-founder of now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX was found guilty of seven counts of fraud, money laundering and conspiracy in November after a six-week criminal trial.
“I let down everyone I care about and everything I cared about,” Bankman-Fried told the court. Then Kaplan convicted him in what prosecutors called one of the largest financial fraud cases in U.S. history. His colleagues “watched as I threw away everything they had built,” Bankman-Fried said.
“They were very disappointed. I’m sorry for that. I’m sorry for what happened at every stage,” he said. He added that his pain was less important than that of customers and creditors. It was unbearable “to watch all of this in slow motion.” Still, he doesn’t believe the story of why customers suffered has been “told properly.”
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According to the judge, FTX founder showed no remorse
He once again tried to shift blame for how and why the crypto exchange collapsed. So he insisted that there are “enough assets” to compensate customers. His lawyers argued that customers suffered “zero” losses. Customers “could have been repaid” at 2022 prices or current prices, including inflation, Bankman-Fried claimed.
“I’m hopeful and optimistic that this will finally happen,” Bankman-Fried explained, “They deserve this… There are enough assets for it. It has always been that way.” Federal Judge Kaplan did not accept this argument and called it “speculative” and “misleading”.
He listed three instances in which Bankman-Fried perjured himself on the witness stand: when Bankman-Fried said he did not know his company was issuing FTX customer funds. When he said he didn’t know about the $8 billion in liabilities on the company’s balance sheets. And when he claimed he didn’t know that repaying customers would require borrowing additional funds.
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This list is not exhaustive, says Kaplan. The judge added that it would not make sense to list all of Bankman-Fried’s lies on the witness stand. Bankman-Fried admitted making mistakes but showed no remorse, according to Kaplan. Before announcing Bankman-Fried’s sentence, Kaplan said he wanted to prevent Bankman-Fried from causing more harm. He noted that he had previously turned to the media to improve his image and his version of events at FTX.
Penalty aims to prevent Bankman-Fried from “ever committing fraud again”
“There is a risk that this man will be able to do something very bad in the future and that is not a low risk, not a low risk at all,” the judge said. He added that the sentence must “reflect the seriousness of the crime.”
Kaplan said the sentence was intended to “disable Bankman-Fried to the extent appropriate” for a significant period of time. Sam Bankman-Fried faced a maximum sentence of 110 years in prison following the collapse of FTX. Prosecutors had called for a sentence of between 40 and 50 years behind bars and compared him to the infamous, late Wall Street Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff.
Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement after the sentencing that Bankman-Fried “orchestrated one of the largest financial fraud cases in history, stealing over $8 billion in customer funds.”
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“His deliberate and ongoing lies demonstrated a flagrant disregard for his clients’ expectations and a disregard for the rule of law, allowing him to secretly use his clients’ money to expand his own power and influence,” Williams said.
The sentence imposed on Sam Bankman-Fried will deter him from “ever committing fraud again” and also sends an “important message to others who may be tempted to engage in financial crimes that justice will be swift and consequences severe.” will,” said Williams.
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