Disgraced former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was just sentenced to 25 years behind bars in a ruling handed forth New York's Southern District Court. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan announced the decision this morning., Bankman-Fried expressed regret for his actions and the people he harmed."It's been excruciating to watch," he said."Customers don't deserve any of that pain." He also acknowledged the serious time he was likely to spend behind bars.
Judge Kaplan laid out his reasoning for delivering such a harsh sentence to the one-time golden boy of the crypto community, suggesting that Bankman-Fried could be in"position to do something very bad in the future." The sentence was issued"for the purpose of disabling him to the extend that can appropriately be done for a significant period of time."five to 6.5 years, citing his “charitable works and demonstrated commitment to others.
The trial lasted one month, with prosecutors arguing that he used FTX funds to keep sibling company Alameda Research afloat. Caroline Ellison, his one-time girlfriend and CEO of Alameda, confirmed this to be true and admitted that she committed fraud on behalf of Bankman-Fried. The defendant’s lawyers, on the other hand, tried toAlameda borrowed more than $8 billion from FTX, money that was taken from accounts belonging to FTX customers.