NEW YORK: Sam Bankman Freed, the disgraced cryptocurrency whiz who was found guilty in one of the largest financial fraud cases in history, is scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday (March 28). .
Bankman Freed, known by his initials SBF, was convicted in November by a New York jury after a five-week trial investigating the former high roller's dramatic fall from grace. U.S. prosecutors are seeking a sentence of 40 to 50 years in prison.
The government's sentencing request takes into account fraud charges estimated at more than $10 billion, saying Bankman Fried's seven convictions reflect the defendant's “unparalleled greed and arrogance.” , is arguing for a significant prison sentence.
Additionally, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams argued that a long sentence was necessary to “protect the public,” and that Bankman-Freed was a “skilled” spin doctor capable of further fraud. characterized.
If released soon, “there is a real possibility that he will settle down and lean into the story and convince others to part with their money based on lies and false promises of hope,” Williams wrote in the 113-page law. stated in the submission. It also includes testimonies from dozens of victims.
Calling the government's proposed sentence “barbaric,” Bankman Freed's lawyers portrayed their client as a hard-working young man motivated by philanthropy and a high-minded man.
Their portrayal is similar to the defense's portrayal presented by the SBF at trial, but it was quickly rejected by jurors after just five hours of deliberations.
Lawyers led by Mark Mukasey said Bankman Freed, 32, should spend about six years in prison and that the sentence would “quickly return Sam to a productive role in society.”
The final sentence will be handed down by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan. Bankman Fried will have the opportunity to address the court before sentencing.
FTX Implosion
Bankman Fried, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate who became a billionaire before he was 30, conquered the world of cryptocurrencies at breakneck speed, building the small startup he co-founded in 2019, FTX, into a worldwide It has grown into the second largest exchange platform.
But in November 2022, the FTX empire panicked when it learned that some of the funds stored at the company were being used in risky operations at Bankman Fried's personal hedge fund, Alameda Research. It collapsed because it could not handle the large number of withdrawal requests from customers.
During the trial, several of Bankman Fried's aides said he was key in all the decisions that led to the disappearance of $8 billion from FTX.
The group also includes Caroline Ellison, Alameda's former CEO and Bankman Fried's on-again, off-again girlfriend, who said Alameda had made “approximately US$14 billion” from FTX customers. Bankman Freed “instructed me to commit those crimes.'' ”.
