According to a memo presented Friday, March 15, to Judge Lewis Kaplan, prosecutors are proposing a sentence of between 40 and 50 years for Bankman-Fried.
Prosecutors in the fraud case against the former CEO of now-defunct exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), have now suggested a prison sentence to the court. This development comes as the former crypto billionaire’s sentencing is scheduled for later this month.
The founder of FTX faces up to 100 years in prison after being found guilty of the seven counts of fraud against him. The lawyers mentioned that SBF masterminded one of the largest fraudulent schemes in recent years, repeatedly comparing its actions to those of Bernie Madoff, an American financier who allegedly ran the largest known Ponzi scheme in history, worth an estimated $65 billion.
Bankman-Fried was found guilty last November of stealing $8 billion from customers of his FTX cryptocurrency exchange. “His life in recent years has been a [life] of unparalleled greed and arrogance; of ambition and rationalization; courting risk and repeatedly gambling with other people’s money,” federal prosecutors in Manhattan have written.
Considering the magnitude and duration of Sam Bankman-Fried’s financial misdeeds, prosecutors believe a sentence of 40 to 50 years is “severe enough” to deter others from committing such crimes. “And that will allow the accused to return to freedom only after society can be sure that he will not have the opportunity to return to fraud and deception,” they added.
Government lawyers also emphasized in the 116-page court document how ruthless the former FTX boss has been for his fraudulent activities. “Even now Bankman-Fried refuses to admit what she did wrong,” part of the memo read.
Interestingly, Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyer proposed to the court that the defendant receive a sentence of between five years and six and a half years. According to the lawyers, the jail sentence in SBF’s case should be rehabilitation and not punishment.
Another Exchange in Process?
Prosecutors revealed to the court in their sentencing memorandum that Sam Bankman-Fried might launch a new cryptocurrency exchange, saying he had considered starting an exchange called “Archangel LTD.”
According to the lawyers, the former CEO of FTX also considered different options to clean up his image. Among the options cited were media and PR stunts, such as “focusing on the fact that the Chapter 11 team has no idea how to run FTX,” pushing a “pro-crypto, pro-freedom” agenda. » or «stick with Tucker Carlsen.”
Among the actions that put SBF in the dock after being extradited to the United States from the Bahamas, where FTX had its headquarters, also included the financing of political campaigns of representatives of both parties in Washington, legal fraud and deception, irregular attempts to unlocking 1 billion from his hedge fund frozen by Beijing, investments in other companies and luxurious real estate purchases, such as the villa in the Bahamas where Bankman-Fried and his small group of intimates speculated in cryptocurrencies.
His then partner, head of the Alameda hedge fund, also belonged to the circle of trust, who was a key witness during the trial by declaring that he committed fraud in the firm together with Bankman.
Ultimately, prosecutors concluded that Sam Bankman-Fried deserves a “severe penalty, commensurate with his role in this historic fraud.” A sentence of 40 to 50 years is believed to be the perfect sentence in this case.
By Leonardo Perez
