Key Takeaways
- Sam Bankman-Fried, former FTX CEO, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in the exchange’s collapse, facing seven felony charges.
- Despite SBF expressing regret and his defense framing him as a logical thinker rather than a malicious actor, Judge Kaplan emphasized the severity of his crimes and the inadequacy of repayment plans to mitigate the damages.
- The sentencing concludes a major legal battle in the crypto world.
Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of crypto exchange FTX, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.
This sentencing, delivered by Judge Lewis Kaplan in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, comes as a consequence of his involvement in the collapse of FTX in November 2022, which resulted in his conviction on seven felony charges.
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Before his sentence was announced, SBF said he was “sorry” and thought FTX could have survived if it hadn’t been closed. His lawyers called him a misunderstood genius, saying he acted on logic, not bad intentions.
However, Judge Kaplan strongly disagreed with the defense’s view on how the financial losses were being handled, making it clear that ideas of paying back the losses or changes in crypto values did not lessen the severity of the crimes. He stated:
Punishment must fit the seriousness of the crime, and this was a serious crime. <…> When not lying, <SBF> was evasive, hair splitting, trying to get the prosecutors to rephrase questions for him. I’ve been doing this job for close to 30 years. I’ve never seen a performance like that.
In addition to the prison sentence, Judge Kaplan also suggested an $11 billion dollar fine, representing the amount that investors, lenders, and customers lost.
This sentencing closes a significant chapter in crypto history as it ends one of the most impactful legal cases in the industry.
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