Sam Bankman-Fried could receive a sentence of more than 100 years following his conviction on seven counts connected to the downfall of his crypto business. There is speculation from some legal specialists that his sentence will not be as extended, as federal sentencing standards are "very strict". Others compare him to Bernie Madoff, who was given a 150 year term for deceiving investors in his Ponzi plot.
Twelve jurors found Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, guilty of all seven criminal charges brought against him, leaving it up to Judge Lewis Kaplan to decide how long he will remain in prison. The venerable 78-year-old is a veteran of the Southern District of New York and is known for his no-nonsense approach and his intolerance for any unnecessary gestures in his courtroom. This was particularly evident in Bankman-Fried's four days of testimony, when the 31-year-old Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate attempted to sidestep questions and often responded with evasive answers. He was often met with counter-evidence or refutation from the prosecutors, leading multiple litigators to state that Bankman-Fried's attitude was not a good look given the jury and the judge. Judge Kaplan will now decide Bankman-Fried's sentence, with the date set for March 28 at 9:30 a.m. ET.
Upon conviction of a myriad of financial crimes -wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud against FTX customers and Alameda Research lenders, securities fraud, commodities fraud against FTX investors, and money laundering - Yesha Yadav, a law professor and Associate Dean at Vanderbilt University, noted that the quick jury verdict of just a few hours suggests that they were certain of their finding. She continued on to remark that this confidence should be taken into account for a more severe sentence than the statutory maximum of 115 years. Drawing on his experience as a former prosecutor in the U.S. Justice Department's Securities and Commodities Fraud Section, Renato Mariotti stated that it wouldn't be unexpected for Bankman-Fried to spend the next two or five decades in prison because of the sheer magnitude of his fraud, his false testimony, and Judge Kaplan's intolerance for his behavior while out on bond. Mariotti concluded that the judge will show greater sympathy toward the victims than for Bankman-Fried.
Judge Kaplan revoked Bankman-Fried's bail and sent him back to jail in August for witness tampering. Mariotti believes that the federal sentencing guidelines would be high, but the judge is required to take into account the circumstances surrounding SBF and his offense. Yadav adds that the issue of sentencing is governed by guidelines that consider how many have been harmed, the dollar quantum, and the seriousness of the damage that the defendant has caused. He estimates that the judge may look at a prison term close to the 110 years that the sentencing guidelines suggest. O'Brien, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney for white collar criminal defence in NYC, believes that the sentence could be between 15-20 years due to Bankman-Fried's age.
Tuchmann has made comparisons of this case to that of Bernie Madoff, and Elizabeth Holmes, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison and began serving her punishment in May. He states that since the victims here are mostly small investors, the judge may feel pressure to hand down a significant sentence. Yadav states that Bankman-Fried still has an opportunity to make a positive contribution after his prison term, and the fact that the crimes here are not violent may be taken into consideration. It is also important to note that the Department of Justice may bring a second, separate case against Bankman-Fried in March 2024, and the prosecution may feel more confident should he be found guilty on those additional charges. This could potentially lead to an even longer sentence.
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