Sam Bankman-Fried (file image). Photo: ALEX WONG / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP
By Natalie Sherman & Kayla Epstein, BBC News
Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder of the failed crypto exchange FTX, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for defrauding customers and investors of his now-bankrupt firm.
The ruling cements the downfall of the former billionaire, who emerged as a high profile champion of crypto before his firm's dramatic collapse in 2022.
The 32 year old was later found to have stolen billions from customers of the exchange ahead of its implosion.
He had denied the charges.
But he was convicted by a New York jury in November on charges including multiple counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
During the sentencing hearing on Thursday (local time), Judge Lewis Kaplan provided a harsh assessment, saying it was clear Bankman-Fried was motivated by a drive to be politically influential.
Despite "protestations of sorrow" about customer losses, Judge Kaplan said, Bankman-Friend had expressed "never a word of remorse for the commission of terrible crimes".
Bankman-Fried did not appear to take direct responsibility for the fallout of FTX's demise as he spoke briefly in court.
"They've been failed by more people than I can count," he said, speaking of the exchange's customers. "It's been excruciating to watch."
While acknowledging that a lot of people had suffered, he added: "I don't think the reasons for that have been properly told."
As he spoke clearly and quietly, Bankman-Fried stuck to his narrative that FTX had the holdings to repay customers at the time of its collapse.
He spoke about the pain he caused former colleagues, whom he praised, including Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang, who testified against him at trial.
"I know a lot of people feel really let down," he told Judge Kaplan. "They all built something really beautiful, they threw themselves into it and then I threw it all away.
"It haunts me every day," he added.
While 25 years constitutes a serious prison sentence, it is far less than Bankman-Fried could have received.
The charges carried a potential prison sentence of more than 100 years under official government guidelines.
Federal prosecutors in New York this month told the judge such a long term was not necessary.
But they requested at least 40 years, arguing that Bankman-Fried had committed a massive fraud, misappropriating more than US$8 billion (NZD$13b) in customer money, while showing "brazen disrespect" for the law.
Bankman-Fried's team, which is expected to appeal, had argued for a lighter sentence of roughly five to 6.5 years.
They said that he was a non-violent, first-time offender, and pointed to mental health struggles and argued that customers were poised to recover significant sums under a plan currently working through bankruptcy court.
Dozens of people, including former FTX customers, family, friends of his parents and complete strangers, submitted letters to the court, trying to sway Judge Kaplan, the federal justice in New York who decided his fate.
FTX was one of the world's largest crypto exchanges before rumours of financial trouble prompted customers to pull their funds, precipitating its collapse and exposing Bankman-Fried's crimes.
The case has been closely watched by other crypto executives and firms facing charges.
Bankman-Fried is not the first crypto executive to be sentenced.
Karl Sebastian Greenwood, who worked with so-called 'Cryptoqueen' Ruja Ignatova, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for his role convincing millions of people to invest more than $4b in a fraudulent currency, OneCoin.
A lawyer involved in the scheme received a 10-year sentence.
Letters to the court also compared Bankman-Fried to other high-profile fraudsters such as Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, who was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison.
Bernie Madoff, who was convicted of a $64b securities fraud Ponzi scheme, was ordered to spend 150 years behind bars. As of last year, victims in that scheme had recovered more than 90 percent of their money, according to prosecutors.
This story was originally published by the BBC.
