Prosecution requests 40 to 50 years in prison for the FTX founder

What’s new? The prosecution in the case of the founder of the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX Sam Bankman-Fried voiced their demands for sentencing. Thus, prosecutor Damian Williams requested for the businessman from 40 to 50 years in prison for fraud and theft of $8 billion of client funds, in which he was previously unanimously found guilty by a jury.

Material by The Block

What else is known? Under US law, Bankman-Fried faces up to 115 years in prison on all counts. His lawyer, however, asked to reduce the sentence to a maximum of 6,5 years on the grounds that the exchange’s clients would receive compensation as part of the bankruptcy proceedings. The businessman’s sentence will be announced on March 28 this year.

The prosecutor’s office noted that Bankman-Fried had a number of advantages that allowed for a decent and productive life, including a good upbringing, an education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a prestigious start to a career in finance, and an idea for a startup, but “his life in recent years has been one of unmatched greed and hubris; of ambition and rationalization; and courting risk and gambling repeatedly with other people’s money.”

Earlier, the media revealed how the businessman’s parents, Stanford University law professors Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, used their connections to promote FTX. No charges have been brought against them, however.

In the new appeal, the prosecution also emphasizes that Bankman-Fried even now “refuses to admit what he did was wrong.” The businessman continues to argue that the collapse of the exchange was the result of management errors and not malicious actions. In addition, the defense intends to appeal.

Prosecutors argue that FTX was the largest fraudulent scheme of the decade, and Bankman-Fried due to willful disregard for the rule of law and lack of mitigating circumstances deserves a harsh punishment that would prevent others from committing similar crimes.

The prosecution also rejected the defense attorneys’ argument for leniency, noting that FTX customers have not yet received any compensation and there is no guarantee that they will receive 100% restitution.

FTX will pay bankrupt BlockFi $874 million in a settlement agreement

The two companies alternately filed for bankruptcy in November 2022

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Earlier, FTX liquidators PwC said the exchange’s clients would start receiving payouts later this year.