Gary Wang, FTX Co-Founder, Pleads for Non-Custodial Sentence

FTX co-founder Gary Wang has asked a federal judge to excuse him from prison sentence, citing his cooperation in the Sam Bankman-Fried’s fraud trial. In a sentencing memo submitted by his lawyer Ilan Graff, he argues that Wang deserves a non-custodial sentence due to his cooperation with the authorities and a relatively minor role in the offense.

Wang co-founded FTX with Bankman-Fried, who is now serving a 25-year prison sentence at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. After the fall of FTX in 2022, which preceded the long crypto winter, Bankman-Fried was convicted of seven charges, including fraud and conspiracy. Despite requests from his family and acquaintances to reduce his punishment, the judge imposed a quarter-century imprisonment.

Wang pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges in a 2022 agreement with prosecutors. He was a key witness in Bankman-Fried’s trial, confessing his role in the FTX debacle. Wang testified that Sam Bankman-Fried instructed him to modify FTX’s code, allowing Alameda Research to improperly access and use customer funds over a prolonged period.

Lawyer Argues for Leniency

Lawyer Graff argued in the memo that Wang’s role in the fraud scheme was less direct compared to that of others involved, like Caroline Ellison and Nishad Singh. He also asserted that the co-founder was unaware of the fraud, stating, “Gary was unaware of the scheme when it started, never informed of its particulars, and unlike Bankman-Fried, Ellison, and Singh, never once took an affirmative step to deceive anyone.”

Read also: Former FTX Director Nishad Singh Requests Leniency From Judge

The defense team’s arguments for Wang come ahead of his prison sentence hearing scheduled for November 20. In the memo Graff also mentioned Wang’s wife, Cheryl, who is now nine-months pregnant. The memo notes that Cheryl is in the process of naturalizing and cannot work. If Wang is sentenced to prison, their soon-to-be-born son will be left without a “primary source of financial support,” Graff stated.