Sam Bankman-Fried, crypto bro and scammer extraordinaire, was just sentenced to 25 years in prison after being found guilty of two counts of wire fraud conspiracy, two counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, and conspiracy to commit securities fraud.
“The defendant’s assertion that FTX customers and creditors will be paid in full is misleading, it is logically flawed, it is speculative,” Judge Lewis Kaplan said, according to Reuters. “A thief who takes his loot to Las Vegas and successfully bets the stolen money is not entitled to a discount on the sentence by using his Las Vegas winnings to pay back what he stole.”
Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of crypto exchange FTX, scammed customers out of approximately $10 billion and led to the total collapse of FTX and another hedge fund, according to a November ruling.
He faced a maximum possible sentence of 110 years in prison. During the case, Judge Kaplan increased the sentencing guidelines range for Bankman-Fried because he perjured himself and knowingly obstructed justice.
Bankman-Fried said at the criminal sentencing hearing that he made a “series of selfish decisions.” He said his coworkers “built something really beautiful and I threw all of that away,” and said his decision “haunts [him] every day.”
Bankman-Fried will likely appeal both his conviction and his sentence.
