Judge Lewis Kaplan determined that the former CEO of FTX engaged in witness tampering and perjury in his trial testimony regarding user funds.

After a sentencing hearing in federal court, former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried received a 25-year prison sentence.

On March 28, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York convicted Bankman-Fried on seven felony charges. In a United States District Court for the Southern District of New York hearing the case, Judge Lewis Kaplan imposed a sentence of 240 months and 60 months, for a cumulative term of 25 years. SBF was the initial individual associated with FTX and Alameda Research to be sentenced to incarceration subsequent to the exchange’s collapse in November 2022. 

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In addition to witness tampering and perjury, Judge Kaplan determined that SBF had violated both the circumstances surrounding the revocation of his bond in August 2023 and his testimony at trial concerning FTX user funds. He acknowledged Bankman-Fried’s “social awkwardness” but stated that SBF was “not going to admit a thing” regarding his responsibility, according to the testimony of former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison.

“Sanction must be proportional to the gravity of the offense,” stated Judge Kaplan. “Moreover, this was serious.  Crime […] When not telling the truth, [Bankman-Fried] was elusive to the point of tearing his hair out while pleading with the prosecutors to rephrase queries. I have been employed in this field for nearly three decades.” That was unlike any other performance I’ve ever witnessed.”

According to a docket entry dated March 28 for the Southern District of New York, the judge is expected to deduct the time already served by SBF from his sentence, which amounts to 291 months of incarceration. Judge Kaplan proposed an additional $11 billion judgment alongside the incarceration of SBF. According to him, FTX incurred losses of $1.7 billion by investors, $1.3 billion by financiers, and $8 billion by customers.

Prior to the entrance of Bankman-Fried by U.S. Marshals, the New York courtroom was reportedly filled with officials and members of the public, as reported by Matthew Lee of the Inner City Press. Reportedly, the former CEO of FTX was dressed in the metropolitan detention center in Brooklyn, where he has been incarcerated ever since the judge revoked his bond, in a light brown uniform.

“Based on the facts and the law, I reject the defense’s argument regarding loss,” Judge Kaplan reportedly told Inner City Press. “The claim that the entire amount owed to customers and creditors will be paid is deceptive; the defendants in the bankruptcy case equate loss with dollar volume.”

Judge Further:

“A fortuitous run-up in the value of some cryptocurrencies bears no relation to the gravity of the crimes that were committed. A thief who takes his loot to Las Vegas and successfully bets is not entitled to a sentencing reduction.”

Bankman-Fried expressed regret at every turn for the events leading up to the shutdown, asserting that “FTX could have continued to operate” before the judge’s sentencing. His attorneys ostensibly depicted the former CEO of FTX as a misunderstood savant in a concluding statement: 

“Sam was not a ruthless financial serial killer. He wasn’t predatory. He makes decisions with math in his head, not malice in his heart.”

A British national who flew in from London for the sentencing hearing, Sunil Kavuri, stated that the collapse of FTX had caused him “twice as much suffering.” Kavuri, representing other FTX victims, countered the claim that the “loss was zero” by invoking the exchange’s repayment plans in his court appearance.

“Mr. Bankman-Fried would have done it again if he believed mathematics justified it,” stated Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas Roos. Additionally, he stated that the former CEO “made no admission of responsibility.”

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In essence, Judge Kaplan’s sentence divided the divergence between the utmost terms of 6.5 years recommended by SBF’s attorneys and 50 years argued by prosecutors. Numerous authorities anticipated that Judge Kaplan would levy a term of ten to thirty years in prison, in accordance with the circumstances of the case and the magnitude of the funds at stake. 

Gary Wang, Caroline Ellison, Nishad Singh, and Ryan Salame, four others connected to FTX and Alameda and charged alongside SBF, have entered guilty pleas and agreements. Salame, the former co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, abstained from testimony at Bankman-Fried’s criminal prosecution, standing alone among the four defendants. His subsequent sentencing.

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