LIVE: Sam Bankman-Fried gets sentenced to 25 years in prison in FTX case

Quick Take

  • The Block’s live coverage of Sam Bankman-Fried’s sentencing for his role in the FTX/Alameda fraud case. 

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison, a New York judge decided on Thursday, according to Inner City Press

Bankman-Fried declined to have his conditions read. His lawyer, Marc Mukasey, said they planned to file language on which facility he would be designated to, according to reporting from Inner City Press. 

Bankman-Fried was also ordered to $11 billion in restitution. That is divvied up to $8 billion to customers, $1.7 billion to investors and $1.3 billion to lenders, said Braden Perry, partner at Kennyhertz Perry and a former federal enforcement attorney, in an email to The Block. 

"That restitution number may be reduced based on the receivership recovery, but it ensures that he is on the hook until everyone is made whole," Perry said. 

The $11 billion figure represents the "illegal proceeds that he received as a result of the fraud," added Samson Enzer, partner at Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP, in an email. Enzer is a former federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. 

11:38 a.m.

"He's [Sam Bankman-Fried] not going to admit a thing. As is his right. Specific deterrence? His name is mud around the world. But he's persistent and he's a great marketing guy," said Judge Lewis Kaplan, according to Inner City Press.

11:36 a.m. 

Former FTX Sam Bankman-Fried had the right to plead not guilty, said Judge Lewis Kaplan in court on Thursday ahead of the former billionaire's sentencing. 

"Everybody's got that right and I don't hold it against him," Kaplan said, according to Inner City Press. 

11:28 a.m. 

Judge Lewis Kaplan mentioned Sam Bankman-Fried telling a reporter in November "yeah f*ck regulators," according to Inner City Press.

Kaplan is moments away from issuing his sentence for the former FTX CEO. 

11:25 a.m. 

Judge Lewis Kaplan spoke about Sam Bankman-Fried's hope of being president, moments before he is expected to say how long the former executive will be in prison.

"He set up a vehicle to make donation to the right, through straws that wouldn't come back to him," Kaplan said, according to reporting from Inner City Press. "Some of this, at one point, might have been attributed to him have presented himself as in favor of appropriate regulation of the crypto industry. 

11:23 a.m. 

Judge Lewis Kaplan said former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is ambitious and "aware of his talents."

"He talked about building two huge companies and very interested in politics and wanted to use his money to have an influence on politics," Kaplan said, according to Inner City Press. 

11:21 a.m. 

Judge Lewis Kaplan is now speaking and called Bankman-Fried privileged.

"Much of what was said about the defendant's background is undisputed. He was privileged, had loving and devoted parents, he had every advantage they could confer on him, he went to MIT," Kaplan said, according to reporting from Inner City Press. 

11:16 a.m. 

Sam Bankman-Fried would do it again, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas Roos, alluding to actions he took ahead of FTX's collapse. 

"He did not swear off doing it again. He said there is an opportunity to relaunch FTX or an equivalent. That, I submit, tells the court exactly what could happen. A sentence is necessary here of at least 40 years so he will not do it again," Roos said according to Inner City Press. 

11:14 a.m. 

Sam Bankman-Fried looked his victims "in the eyes," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas Roos in court on Thursday. 

"These days people look into people's eyes through Twitter," Roos said, according to reporting from Inner City Press. 

Bankman-Fried took $1.7 billion from investors, which shows the need for a long sentence, Roos added. 

11:09 a.m. 

Bankman-Fried stole $8 billion, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas Roos in court on Thursday, according to Inner City Press. 

Roos spoke about victims' losses, including a man in Portugal whose daughter was born the day before FTX's bankruptcy. 

11:06 a.m. 

Sam Bankman-Fried wraps up his address to the court. 

"There is an opportunity to do what I thought I would do for the world, not what I ended up doing," Bankman-Fried said, according to Inner City Press. "If people do what they can for the world, hopefully I can see their success not just my own failures."

Now onto the prosecutors address to the court. 

11:05 a.m. 

Sam Bankman-Fried said customers will get paid, despite criticism saying that won't happen. 

"At the end of the day, it looks like customers will finally get paid, current value of assets. It's true for lenders and investors as well," he told the court on Thursday, according to Inner City Press. 

11:01 a.m. 

Sam Bankman-Fried told the court that it didn't matter why events went bad and as a CEO it was on him. 

"I'm not the one who matters the most at the end of the day... My useful life is probably over. I've long since given what I had to give. I can't do it from prison," the former CEO said, according to Inner City Press. 

10:58 a.m. 

Sam Bankman-Fried told people in the court that he was responsible at the end of the day for the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. 

"I was the CEO of FTX, I was its leader, that means I was responsible at the end of the day," Bankman-Fried said, according to Inner City Press. 

10:55 a.m. 

Sam Bankman-Fried told the court that he made a lot of mistakes, according to Inner City Press. Customers were not paid back and could have been, he added. 

10:53 a.m.

Sam Bankman-Fried says Alameda Research and FTX were not bankrupt and says FTX would have survived, but not Alameda. 

"We had to liquidate to meet the run on FTX. Then shutting it down. FTX would have survived, Alameda would not have," Bankman-Fried said, according to Inner City Press. 

10:49 a.m. 

Sam Bankman-Fried said he made a series of bad decisions in front of the court, according to Inner City Press. 

"They weren't selfish decisions. Those culminated with a bunch of other factors," Bankman-Fried said. 

10:46 a.m. 

Sam Bankman-Fried addresses the court. 

Many have been awaiting to hear an apology. According to Innercity Press, Bankman-Fried told the court, "I threw away what they had built. They were let down. I'm sorry about that. I'm sorry about what happened at every stage. Things I should have done and said, thing I shouldn't have. I care about everything too."

 

10:44 a.m.

After Judge Kaplan noted Sam Bankman-Fried was guilty of perjury, the court heard testimonies, including from a victim highlighting the adverse impacts of FTX's actions on customers and their assets. The prosecution suggested a life sentence based on the severity of the crimes, with a possible maximum of 1320 months. Defense arguments highlighted Bankman-Fried's character and intentions, appealing for a lesser sentence to allow him a chance at future redemption.

 

10:38 a.m.

Former FTX Sam Bankman-Fried faces sentencing today, marking his return to a Manhattan courtroom after a dramatic trial and subsequent guilty verdict.

Bankman-Fried was found guilty in November by a jury in New York of all seven criminal counts of defrauding the customers, lenders and investors of FTX. Prosecutors say Bankman-Fried orchestrated "likely the largest fraud in the last decade," making comparisons to Ponzi scheme mastermind Bernie Madoff.

Bankman-Fried's family pleaded with the court, saying the disgraced former crypto market wunderkind is "wracked with remorse" and worries about his safety in prison. Letters flooded in over the past few days, some supporting Bankman-Fried, touting his commitment to veganism and saying he cared about doing good things for the world. Others say they lost life savings and said their losses caused severe anxiety and distress.

Prosecutors have argued that Bankman-Fried, 32, should be in prison for 40 to 50 years, while his defense says that figure should be closer to six and a half years. Some legal experts expect that figure will be closer to 20 to 30 years.

After sentencing, Bankman-Fried will be moved from the Metropolitan Detention Center to a longer-term prison, said Braden Perry, partner at Kennyhertz Perry and a former federal enforcement attorney."The decision is up to the Bureau of Prisons based on his classification and availability but he can request a certain location and the judge pass that request on to the BOP," Perry said. "I would assume he will request a minimum security camp somewhere near his family in California."

Updated (March 27, 4:36 p.m. UTC): Added details about restitution. 


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About Author

Sarah is a reporter at The Block covering policy, regulation and legal happenings. Before, Sarah was a reporter with CQ Legal writing about securities regulation, which is where she first started reporting on crypto. Sarah has also written for The Bond Buyer and American Banker, among other finance-related publications. She graduated from the University of Missouri and earned a degree in print and digital journalism. Sarah is based in Washington D.C., and is an avid coffee lover. You can follow her on Twitter @ForTheWynn.