On March 28, 2024,FTX founder Sam Bankman Fried was sentenced to nearly 25 years in prison, marking the end of a criminal fraud trial involving retail investors losing $8 billion, with the final sentence announced being longer than prosecutors’ previous sentencing recommendations. 15 years less.
Bitui previously reported thatSBF was found guilty of seven criminal counts on November 2, 2023, including two counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, as well as several counts of conspiracy to commit securities and commodities fraud and other crimes. , the crimes carry a maximum sentence of 110 years, according to a probation officer.
New York Judge Lewis Kaplan recommended that SBF serve his sentence in a low- and medium-security prison near California's Bay Area, arguing that SBF 's social "impairment" (allegedly diagnosed with autism) and "connection to great wealth" may Making him a target for "attack" by his fellow inmates.
Crypto community reaction: The prison sentence is not long enough
Jake Chervinsky, chief legal officer of Variant Fund, pointed out that the SBF sentence is much lower than that of Ross Ulbricht, who was sentenced to two life sentences plus 40 years in prison for planning the Silk Road. Chervinsky said on the X platform: "There is no justice in this world."
Nic Carter, a partner at Castle Island Ventures, added: "I feel huge reluctance and sympathy for Ross Ulbricht."
Whistleblower Edward Snowden was surprised that the SBF sentence was lower than that of another whistleblower, Chelsea Manning. He said on the X platform: "Oh my God, he really committed fewer crimes than Chelsea Manning (35 years old)!"
Crypto KOL commented: “Although SBF’s sentence is ‘short’, it is still much longer than the existence of the encryption industry.”
The following is the full text of the U.S. Department of Justice’s sentencing notice for SBF:
Samuel Bankman-Fried, also known as SBF, 32, of Stamford, California, was sentenced today to 25 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $11 billion in forfeiture for orchestrating multiple fraud schemes.
Bankman-Fried, the founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX and cryptocurrency trading company Alameda Research , misappropriated billions of dollars in customer funds deposited with FTX, defrauding FTX investors of more than $1.7 billion and defrauding Alameda lenders of more than $1.3 billion. SBF was previously convicted of two counts of wire fraud, two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit commodities fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan issued the verdict today after a month-long trial.
Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said: "SBF orchestrated one of the largest financial frauds in history, stealing more than $8 billion of customer funds. His deliberate and sustained lies demonstrated his blatant disregard for customer expectations and There is no respect for the rule of law, all so that he can secretly use his clients' money to expand his power and influence. The scale of his crimes is determined not only by the amount of money stolen, but also by the immense harm caused to his victims, In some cases, victims' life savings were wiped out overnight. As a result of the unprecedented fraud, SBF faced 25 years in prison and the forfeiture of more than $11 billion. Today's sentencing will prevent the defendants from committing another fraud and It sends an important message to others who may be tempted to commit financial crimes: justice will be served quickly and the consequences will be severe.”
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said, "Deceiving customers and investors has serious consequences for anyone who believes they can hide their financial crimes behind wealth and power, or behind claims that no one is smart enough to understand. should think twice. I thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the FBI for their excellent work in bringing Mr. SBF to justice.”
"The FBI will aggressively investigate individuals like SBF who engage in fraudulent schemes that harm the American public and our financial system," saidFBI Director Christopher Wray . "We are proud of our successful collaboration, ending This resulted in massive mismanagement and the misappropriation of billions of dollars. Today’s sentencing should serve as a warning to those who use fraudulent means for personal gain – there are consequences for your actions.”
Based on the allegations in the indictment, evidence presented at trial and matters contained in public documents:
From 2019 to 2022, Bankman-Fried was the leader and mastermind of a scheme to defraud FTX customers, misappropriating billions of dollars in customer funds. Bankman-Fried used FTX client funds for personal use to make investments and millions of dollars in political donations to candidates on both sides of the aisle, and to repay billions of dollars in loans owed to Alameda Research, which Bankman-Fried founded. Cryptocurrency trading funds. Bankman-Fried also defrauded Alameda's lenders and FTX's equity investors by providing them with false and misleading financial information that concealed his misuse of customer deposits.
SBF has repeatedly told its clients, investors and the public that client deposits into FTX are held securely and for clients, that client deposits are kept separate from the company's assets, and that client deposits will not be used. He also repeatedly claimed that his trading company Alameda did not have any privileged access to FTX and did not receive special treatment from FTX. These statements were false, and he actually transferred billions of dollars in customer deposits from FTX to Alameda , then used those funds to invest for his own benefit, make political donations, and purchase real estate, among other expenses. He used a variety of fraudulent means to commit this fraud. For example, Bankman-Fried directed co-conspirators to change FTX's computer code to allow Alameda to effectively withdraw unlimited amounts of cryptocurrency from the exchange. SBF also made false statements to financial institutions to conceal its misuse of customers’ U.S. dollar deposits. He also directed the creation of false financial statements for Alameda's lenders, inflated the revenue and profits FTX provided to investors, and backdated contracts and other documents to conceal his fraud.
Judge Kaplan authorized the government to use funds recovered through forfeiture proceedings to provide restitution to the victims of Bankman-Fried's crimes.
The FBI investigated the case.
The Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force of the Southern District of New York is handling the case, with assistance from the Office’s Illicit Finance and Money Laundering and Complex Fraud and Cybercrimes Units. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicolas Roos, Danielle Sassoon, Samuel Raymond, Thane Rehn and Danielle Kudla are prosecuting the case.
Author: BitpushNews Mary Liu
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