Prosecutors Seek Up To 50-Year Prison Sentence For Sam Bankman-Fried

 

Bankman-Fried was convicted last November.

Prosecutors recommended a 40- to 50-year prison sentence for disgraced cryptocurrency executive Sam Bankman-Fried on Friday, months after the FTX founder was convicted of one of the largest acts of fraud in American history.

Prosecutors argued for the sentence in a filing, citing the “scope, duration, nature and sheer number of Bankman-Fried’s crimes,” which resulted in the former executive being found guilty of seven counts of fraud and conspiracy last November.

Prosecutors also pushed for the court to impose a judgment of $11 billion against Bankman-Fried.

Prosecutors noted each of Bankman-Fried’s crimes are “worthy of a lengthy sentence,” saying he victimized tens of thousands of people and companies, stole money from customers, fabricated lending documents and bribed foreign officials.

The 40- to 50-year sentencing is also needed to protect the public from further crimes from Bankman-Fried, prosecutors said, adding it can serve as a deterrent to would-be fraudsters.

Bankman-Fried’s sentencing is scheduled for March 28, though he plans to appeal his conviction.

CONTRA

Bankman-Fried continued to maintain his innocence following his conviction last year, when defense attorneys argued the collapse of his business was no fault of his own and that prosecutors were trying to paint him as a movie villain.

BIG NUMBER

82. That’s how old Bankman-Fried would be at the end of a 50-year prison sentence.

CRUCIAL QUOTE

“The trial evidence made clear that the defendant justified enriching and aggrandizing himself, burnishing his own image, and putting billions of dollars of other people’s money at his own disposal, because he believed in the virtue of his own power, decision-making, superiority, and spending,” prosecutors said.

KEY BACKGROUND

Bankman-Fried was charged in 2022 with money laundering and several counts of fraud over the collapse of FTX, the cryptocurrency exchange that generated $1.2 billion in revenue in 2021 amid a crypto frenzy. The charges against him stemmed from allegations that FTX customer money was being transferred to Alameda Research, FTX’s sister trading firm. Bankman-Fried notoriously testified in his own defense, repeatedly claiming he couldn’t remember key conversations and rambling on multiple occasions.