FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried should get up to 50 years in prison, US prosecutors say
- The sentence is necessary for the ‘historic’ fraud involving more than 1 million victims and losses of more than US$10 billion, they said in a court filing
- Prosecutors said Bankman-Fried showed ‘unmatched greed and hubris’ and refuses to admit what he did was wrong, even after his conviction
Prosecutors said Sam Bankman-Fried should get as much as 50 years behind bars for his role in the collapse of his FTX cryptocurrency exchange in “what is likely the largest fraud of the last decade”.
A sentence of ranging from 40 to 50 years is necessary for Bankman-Fried’s “historic” crime involving more than 1 million victims and losses of more than US$10 billion, prosecutors said Friday in a court filing. The request is far less than the 100 years recommended in US criminal sentencing guidelines, but much more than the 6½ years his lawyers suggested.
“In every part of his business, and with respect to each crime committed, the defendant demonstrated a brazen disrespect for the rule of law,” prosecutors said in the filing. “He understood the rules, but decided they did not apply to him.”
US District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan in New York is scheduled to sentence the 32-year-old on March 28. With such a wide disparity in the recommendations, the judge’s decision could be a bellwether for other cryptocurrency executives who defrauded investors or mismanaged client funds.
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FTX crypto exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried convicted by US court on fraud charges
A jury in Manhattan convicted Bankman-Fried in November of seven charges, including wire fraud and conspiracy.
