Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the now-defunct FTX cryptocurrency exchange, was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Thursday. This sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in a Manhattan courtroom for defrauding customers of USD8 billion, marking the culmination of the former billionaire prodigy's swift fall from grace.
During the sentencing, Judge Kaplan firmly dismissed Bankman-Fried's defense that FTX customers hadn't suffered financial losses, instead accusing him of perjury for lying under oath during his trial. On November 2, a jury convicted Bankman-Fried, 32, of seven charges related to fraud and conspiracy, tied to the spectacular collapse of FTX in 2022—a case prosecutors have labeled as one of the largest financial frauds in American history.
Judge Kaplan pointed out that, as a result of the fraud, FTX customers were defrauded of USD8 billion, the exchange’s equity investors lost USD1.7 billion, and lenders to the Alameda Research hedge fund, also founded by Bankman-Fried, incurred losses of USD1.3 billion. Furthermore, he highlighted Bankman-Fried's dishonesty during his trial, specifically noting his false claim of being unaware that customer deposits at FTX were being improperly used by his hedge fund.
While federal prosecutors had advocated for a much harsher sentence ranging from 40 to 50 years, Bankman-Fried's defense, led by lawyer Marc Mukasey, contended that a fair sentence would be no more than 5 years and 3 months.
