Founder of crypto exchange FTX
Bankman-Fried will be behind bars for at least 40 years
March 16, 2024, 2:39 a.m
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From generous child prodigy to convict: If the US Attorney’s Office has its way, the founder of the cryptocurrency platform FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, will have to go to prison for several decades. The required sentence differs significantly from the defense’s ideas.
Prosecutors have called for a prison sentence of between 40 and 50 years against US crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried, who was found guilty of fraud. A harsh sentence is “necessary” to reflect the “seriousness” of the crimes committed by the founder of failed cryptocurrency platform FTX, New York federal prosecutors said in a court filing.
The sentence against the 32-year-old, who was once celebrated as a crypto prodigy, will be announced on March 28th. According to media reports, his defense lawyers have argued for Bankman-Fried to be sentenced to around six years in prison. The fallen crypto entrepreneur was found guilty last November on seven counts, including fraud and money laundering. He was accused of embezzling billions of dollars in customer funds.
The then world’s second largest crypto exchange FTX went bankrupt in November 2022, triggering an earthquake in the crypto world. Bankman-Fried had previously embodied the rise of cryptocurrencies into a supposedly serious investment like no other.
However, the business construct collapsed when it was revealed that FTX was partially using customer funds to support the crypto investment fund Alameda Research, also founded by Bankman-Fried. Amid a fundamental crisis in digital currencies, panicked investors withdrew their funds, leading to FTX’s bankruptcy. In the end, the equivalent of around 8 billion euros were missing.