FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for defrauding and stealing billions of dollars from clients of the cryptocurrency platform.
It was US District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan who handed down the sentence in federal court in Manhattan, despite the fact that Bankman-Fried claimed that he “regretted what happened at all times” for the collapse of FTX, which uncovered a fraud. about 10 billion dollars
The convicted man faced up to 110 years behind bars after being found guilty last year of seven crimes, including fraud and conspiracy, according to the Bloomberg agency. Bankman-Fried, 32, initially denied knowingly committing fraud and alleged that he and his cryptocurrency empire were victims of the 2022 market crashes.
But Judge Kaplan dismissed Bankman-Fried’s 20-minute statement, saying he was not truly remorseful and focusing instead on the seriousness of the crime. “There is a risk that this man will be in a position to do something very bad in the future,” Judge Kaplan said.
During the trial, prosecutors have accused Bankman-Fried of diverting billions of dollars from FTX to its sister hedge fund, Alameda Research, to spend on speculative investments, more than 300 political donations and expensive real estate assets.
Faced with market volatility, lenders began asking for their money in 2022 and Bankman-Fried used FTX client funds to pay them back. But an avalanche of customer withdrawals culminated in FTX filing for bankruptcy in November 2022 and Bankman-Fried resigning as CEO.