Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison

Sam Bankman-Fried, the former chief exec of FTX and owner of Alameda Research, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison today, according to reporting from Inner City Press.

This sentence comes after a jury found him guilty of multiple felony offenses, including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, and money laundering conspiracy.

Both FTX and Alameda Research declared bankruptcy following the misappropriation of billions of dollars of funds by Bankman-Fried and his co-conspirators.

Bankman-Fried’s defense has claimed that the losses from these collapsed firms should not be considered, stating that the bankruptcy was likely to have a full recovery. Current FTX CEO John J. Ray III said this was “categorically, callously, and demonstrably false.”

Inner City Press reported that Judge Kaplan agreed with Ray’s characterization, claiming the defense’s argument was misleading.

Judge Kaplan: I reject the defense's argument about loss, both on the law and on the facts. The assertion that customers and creditors will be paid in full is misleading – defendants equate loss with dollar volume in the bankruptcy case
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) March 28, 2024

Bankman-Fried himself continued to maintain various fictions, including suggesting he could have saved FTX and that there were enough assets. He even claimed that customers will get paid “the current value of assets,” an assertion that the bankruptcy estate firmly disagrees with.

Judge Kaplan concluded the trial by emphasizing that Bankman-Fried’s habit of lying and evasion was unique among his nearly 20 years on the bench.

In the United States, the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 means that inmates are required to serve a minimum of 85% of their sentence before they are eligible for release.

Bankman-Fried’s team seemed to indicate that they intend to appeal.

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