U.S. district judge sentences Sam Bankman-Fried to 25 years in jail

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the now-defunct FTX cryptocurrency exchange, was sentenced to 25 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan on Thursday. Bankman-Fried was accused of stealing $8 billion from FTX customers.

During a Manhattan court hearing, Judge Kaplan rejected Bankman-Fried's claim that FTX customers did not suffer losses and accused him of lying during his trial testimony.

Bankman-Fried, 32, was found guilty by a jury on Nov. 2 on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy related to FTX's collapse in 2022, described by prosecutors as one of the largest financial frauds in U.S. history.

Standing before the judge with clasped hands, Bankman-Fried spoke for 20 minutes, acknowledging the suffering of FTX customers and offering an apology to his former colleagues.

This sentencing marked the dramatic turn in Bankman-Fried's life from a wealthy entrepreneur and significant political donor to a central figure in the U.S. government's crackdown on cryptocurrency market misconduct.

Despite the sentence, Bankman-Fried has stated his intention to appeal both his conviction and the length of his sentence.

The judge also noted that Bankman-Fried lied during his trial when he claimed ignorance about his hedge fund using customer deposits from FTX.

Federal prosecutors had initially sought a sentence of 40 to 50 years. Bankman-Fried's defense lawyer, Marc Mukasey, argued for a sentence of less than 5-1/4 years.

Source: Newsroom