An entrepreneur and prominent figure in the crypto world, Sam Bankman-Fried, has been handed a 25-year prison sentence for his role in defrauding users of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
In a courtroom in Lower Manhattan, Justice Lewis Kaplan dismissed the defense’s arguments as misleading, illogically flawed, and speculative.
According to Kaplan, Bankman-Fried engaged in obstructing justice and witness tampering as part of his defense strategy, factors that influenced the sentencing decision.
During a two-hour hearing, Justice Lewis Kaplan remarked that Bankman-Fried was fully aware of the criminal nature of his actions and harbored regret for miscalculating the risks of getting caught.
Appearing in a beige jailhouse jumpsuit, Bankman-Fried expressed remorse, acknowledging that his decisions while leading FTX were driven by selfish motives and ultimately led to his downfall.
“It’s a constant source of regret for me,” he stated, reflecting on the mistakes he made.
While Bankman-Fried claimed that FTX had the means to reimburse its customers upon the collapse, prosecutors alleged that he had fraudulently obtained over $10 billion from unsuspecting individuals in what they termed one of the largest financial scams in US history.
Prior to its bankruptcy in 2022, FTX had a valuation of $32 billion, with SBF cultivating a public persona that attracted celebrities, politicians, and industry magnates.
Prosecutors had sought a maximum sentence of 50 years, as opposed to Bankman-Fried’s legal team arguing for no more than six and a half years.
In November, he was convicted on seven criminal charges and has since been detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.