[NEWS] Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison

Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of the major cryptocurrency exchange FTX, who was indicted on seven charges including fraud, was sentenced to 25 years in prison and ordered to forfeit assets worth $11 billion (approximately 1.66 trillion yen) in the Southern District of New York Federal Court on the 28th.

Bankman-Fried was indicted on seven charges including fraud, securities fraud, conspiracy, conspiracy, and money laundering. His lawyer announced on the same day that he plans to appeal.

Judge Lewis Kaplan said during the sentencing that Bankman-Fried repeatedly committed false testimony during his trial testimony. He further said, "He used his power and influence to commit crimes while knowingly committing fraud. He made a series of bad decisions," and criticized him for "not expressing a single word of remorse."

Meanwhile, Bankman-Fried said, "FTX's crisis is the result of mismanagement," and that "I'm sorry for what happened."

He then praised co-founder Gary Wang and former Arameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, who both testified against Bankman-Fried at trial.

Bankman-Fried's lawyer, Mark Mukasey, called him a "clumsy math nerd" and argued that he made mistakes but was a sensitive and kind-hearted person. "Bankman-Fried doesn't make decisions with malice in his heart. He makes decisions with mathematical thinking in his head," he continued.

However, these arguments did not influence Judge Kaplan, who decided that "he committed a very serious crime" and sentenced him. Judge Kaplan said Bankman-Fried had "no intention of taking responsibility for his crimes and instead tried to avoid them by lying," adding that there was a "high risk" that he would make the same mistake in the future.

Prosecutors sought a 40-50 year sentence

The prosecution had argued that Bankman-Fried had lived a life of "unparalleled greed and arrogance" and showed no remorse for his crimes, and had sought a 40-50 year sentence. Bankman-Fried's defense argued that a maximum of seven years in prison was appropriate.

After the verdict, federal prosecutor Damian Williams said Fried's sentence "sends an important message" and "will prevent him from committing fraud again."

Source:Press
Image: Shutterstock

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