2 months ago
Sam Bankman-Fried's stunning autumn from grace
Federal prosecutors asked a New York judge connected Friday to condemnation FTX laminitis Sam Bankman-Fried to betwixt 40 and 50 years successful situation for cryptocurrency crimes they described arsenic a "historic fraud."
Prosecutors made nan petition arsenic they submitted their presentence recommendations to a national judge who will condemnation nan man who astatine 1 clip dazzled nan cryptocurrency world pinch his promotional skills, including his entree to celebrated group consenting to beforehand his businesses.
Bankman-Fried, 32, is scheduled to beryllium sentenced successful Manhattan national tribunal connected March 28 pursuing his November conviction connected fraud and conspiracy charges.
Prosecutors opportunity he costs customers and investors successful FTX and its related companies astatine slightest $10 cardinal from 2017 done 2022.
He was extradited to nan United States successful December 2022 from nan Bahamas aft his companies collapsed a period earlier. Originally permitted to stay astatine location pinch his parents successful Palo Alto, California, he was jailed past twelvemonth weeks earlier his proceedings aft Judge Lewis A. Kaplan concluded that he had tried to tamper pinch proceedings witnesses.
In their presentence submission, prosecutors described Bankman-Fried's crimes arsenic "one of nan largest financial frauds successful history, and what is apt nan largest fraud successful nan past decade."
Sam Bankman-Fried leaves Manhattan national tribunal successful New York connected Feb. 16, 2023.
Seth Wenig / AP
"The suspect victimized tens of thousands of group and companies, crossed respective continents, complete a play of aggregate years. He stole money from customers who entrusted it to him; he lied to investors; he sent fabricated documents to lenders; he pumped millions of dollars successful forbidden donations into our governmental system; and he bribed overseas officials. Each of these crimes is worthy of a lengthy sentence," they wrote.
Prosecutors invoke Bankman-Fried's governmental donations, bribes
They said his "unlawful governmental donations to complete 300 politicians and governmental action groups, amounting to successful excess of $100 million, is believed to beryllium nan largest-ever run finance offense."
And they said his $150 cardinal successful bribes to Chinese authorities officials was 1 of nan azygous largest by an individual.
"Even pursuing FTX's bankruptcy and his consequent arrest, Bankman-Fried shirked responsibility, deflected blasted to marketplace events and different individuals, attempted to tamper pinch witnesses, and lied many times nether oath," prosecutors said, citing his grounds astatine trial.
FTX's bankruptcy successful November of 2022 cast a unreality complete nan full crypto industry, arsenic nan abrupt illness of different awesome manufacture players vaporized billions successful customer wealth.
"So galore group believed successful him, he was a genius," Natalie Tien, a erstwhile FTX employee, told CBS News past year.
Tien said attending nan proceedings of her erstwhile leader was cathartic aft experiencing months of disorder and slump erstwhile his empire collapsed and she excessively "lost a batch of money."
Bankman-Fried's lawyers attacked erstwhile condemnation recommendation
Two weeks ago, Bankman-Fried's lawyers attacked a probation agency proposal that their client service 100 years successful prison, saying a condemnation of that magnitude would beryllium "grotesque" and "barbaric."
They urged nan judge to condemnation Bankman-Fried to conscionable a fewer years down bars aft calculating national sentencing guidelines to urge a word of 5 to 6 1/2 years successful prison.
They cited their client's aesculapian conditions, which see autism, arsenic good arsenic his goals to amended nan world done his now-defunct crypto exchange, according to nan Wall Street Journal.
"Sam is not nan 'evil genius' depicted successful nan media aliases nan greedy villain described astatine trial," his lawyers wrote. "Sam is simply a 31-year-old, first-time, nonviolent offender, who was joined successful nan behaviour astatine rumor by astatine slightest 4 different culpable individuals, successful a matter wherever victims are poised to retrieve —were ever poised to recover— a 100 cents connected nan dollar."
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- Sam Bankman-Fried
- Cryptocurrency
