FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Could Get Over 100 Years in Prison After Cryptocurrency Fraud Case

By Thea Felicity

Mar 28, 2024 09:48 AM EDT

BAHAMAS-US-BANKRUPTCY-CRIME-FTX — FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (C) is led away handcuffed by officers of the Royal Bahamas Police Force at the Nassau, Bahamas, courthouse on December 19, 2022. Cryptocurrency tycoon Samuel Bankman-Fried arrived at Bahamas magistrate court Monday where he could move to accept extradition to the United States to face charges over the multibillion-dollar collapse of his FTX group.
(Photo : Photo by KRIS INGRAHAM/AFP via Getty Images)

In a courtroom scene happening live in a report by The Guardian, Sam Bankman-Fried, who used to be the CEO of the no longer existing FTX cryptocurrency exchange, is getting ready to be sentenced in a federal court in Manhattan.

Per a previous VCPost cover, the FTX Founder might spend over a hundred years in jail if the judge decides to punish him in the toughest way.

Is the founder of FTX guilty of fraud?

Bankman-Fried's path from a highly successful person in the cryptocurrency world to someone convicted of a serious crime started when FTX, the cryptocurrency exchange he led, fell apart in November 2022. This disaster happened because of a complicated financial wrongdoing scheme.

Prosecutors claim that Bankman-Fried and his closest associates took money from FTX and mixed it with another company's funds, Alameda Research. This mix-up led to FTX being short $8 billion, which caused the exchange to collapse, leaving many customers with big losses they didn't expect.

During the trial, Bankman-Fried consistently claimed he hadn't done anything wrong, even though the jury found him guilty of seven serious charges related to fraud and money laundering.

John Ray, the new CEO tasked with managing FTX's bankruptcy proceedings, has strongly criticized Sam Bankman-Fried's behavior throughout the trial and its aftermath.

Ray denounced Bankman-Fried's recent statements as "clearly untrue." He accused Bankman-Fried of maintaining a state of delusion, stressing that the business he left behind in November 2022 was financially unstable and unsafe. Ray further alleged that Bankman-Fried misused company funds for personal extravagances such as luxury homes, private jets, and speculative ventures of questionable value.

VCPost reported that his lawyers are asking the court to be lenient and give him only a six-year prison sentence. But the prosecutors want the opposite. They're pushing for a much harsher punishment, suggesting he should be locked up for 40 to 50 years.

Will Sam Bankman-Fried Go to Prison?

As of now, the FTX Founder and former CEO is still set to receive his sentence in Manhattan federal court. Following his conviction on seven counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to launder money, he faces the possibility of spending over 100 years in prison, should the judge decide on the maximum penalty.

Current FTX CEO justifies Sam Bankman-Fried's possible 100-year sentence due to his "extreme greed and arrogance" behind the huge fraud he orchestrated.

People