Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the now-defunct FTX cryptocurrency exchange, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for defrauding customers of $8 billion. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who rejected Bankman-Fried's claim that customers did not lose money and found that he lied during his trial testimony.
Kaplan stated that Bankman-Fried showed no remorse and knew his actions were wrong and criminal. He imposed an $11 billion forfeiture order and authorized the government to repay victims with seized assets. Federal prosecutors had sought a sentence of 40 to 50 years, while Bankman-Fried's defense lawyer argued for less than five and one quarter years.
Bankman-Fried acknowledged that FTX customers had suffered and apologized to his former colleagues, but he did not admit criminal wrongdoing. He vowed to appeal his conviction and sentence. Three former close associates testified that Bankman-Fried directed them to use FTX customer funds to cover losses at Alameda Research, a hedge fund he founded.
Kaplan found that Bankman-Fried lied when he testified that he did not know Alameda Research had spent customer deposits taken from FTX. Bankman-Fried's defense lawyer attempted to distance him from notorious fraudsters, arguing that he was not a ruthless financial serial killer but rather an "awkward math nerd" who tried to get customers their money back after FTX's collapse.