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- Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) was found guilty of seven counts of fraud and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
- The judge dismissed SBF’s defense arguments as misleading and lacking evidence.
- The judge specifically mentioned SBF’s attempts to tamper with witnesses as a factor in the harsh sentence.
Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the now-defunct crypto exchange FTX, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison after being convicted of defrauding cryptocurrency exchange users and investors.
Verdict
In the Manhattan federal court, Judge Lewis Kaplan dismissed the defense’s claims as misleading, lacking logical basis, and relying on speculation.
Judge Kaplan further stated that SBF’s actions to obstruct justice by tampering with witnesses negatively impacted his case and contributed to the severity of the sentence.
SBF was convicted on seven criminal counts in November and has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn ever since. Though he faced up to 110 years in prison, prosecutors recommended 40-50 years, while SBF’s defense requested only 6. Ultimately, he was sentenced to 25 years.
SBF: FTX’s Collapse “Haunts Me Everyday”
In a lengthy and disjointed statement, SBF finally admitted to a string of “bad decisions” while leading FTX.
SBF even complimented his former business partners, including co-founder Gary Wang and ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison, who both testified against him as part of plea deals, stating, “Together, we built something beautiful. And I threw it all away.” He acknowledged the weight of his actions, adding, “It haunts me every day.”
SBF Will Be Placed In A Medium-Security Federal Prison
Judge Kaplan requested that the Bureau of Prisons consider placing SBF in a medium-security facility or any lower-security option it deems appropriate.
His sentence falls on the higher end for white-collar fraud cases, significantly lower than the potential 100+ years he could have received under federal sentencing guidelines.