On a rainy Thursday in New York City, Sam Bankman-Fried’s story comes to an end, at least for now.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan sentenced The co-founder and former CEO of FTX was sentenced to 25 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and forfeiture of more than $11 billion in ill-gotten gains. Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyer said he plans to appeal.
But the hearing at which Kaplan handed down the sentence did not last 15 minutes. Perhaps it began the evening before, when Richard Partington III, 42, a part-time teacher from Long Island, became the first member of the public to line up in the dark to watch the government’s successful prosecution result. . Bankman Pride.
Add in Kaplan’s measured condemnation of cryptocurrency influencer Ben “BitBoy” Armstrong, an off-track victim statement, a quietly defiant Bankman-Fried, and the former FTX CEO, and Thursday’s hearing was a fitting conclusion to a trial that was already underway. fair share bomb Open to the public.
outside the court
Partington III, one of a handful of non-journalists lined up to take a seat in the main courtroom, began camping out under the New York courthouse awning at 8:30 p.m.
“You hear too much about these people,” he said. decryption “And it’s hard to know from the news whether that’s true or not,” Bankman-Fried said in an interview. That’s why he went to trial last November, he said, and why he decided to go to sentencing.
He wasn’t the only member of the public lining up in the rain. A mother, father, and their 15-year-old son were traveling from outside Boston. Bankman-Fried’s sentencing was a “good educational opportunity” for the teenager, said his mother Ann Guo, 48. There were law students, documentary filmmakers, cryptocurrency investors and, of course, numerous journalists.
The same goes for cryptocurrency influencer Ben “BitBoy” Armstrong. embroiled As the legal battle continued, I boarded a plane to visit another court in Atlanta, Georgia. “We don’t want to see these deals,” he said of FTX. “We don’t want to see the rules of traditional finance applied to cryptocurrencies.”
‘It was partly my doing’
Bankman-Fried’s hearing began at midmorning. His parents, Joseph Allan Bankman and Barbara Fried, sat in front of the courtroom and watched their son be brought in in silence, his shackles rattling.
Judge Kaplan began by issuing a legal ruling, Sunil KaburiA British FTX victim addressed the court. “I lived the FTX nightmare for two years.” He detailed how he lost his savings for a future home and children’s education due to the collapse of a cryptocurrency exchange.
However, his victim statement went off the rails after he focused solely on the FTX bankruptcy proceedings and the asset’s decision to return funds to customers in dollar amounts rather than the current value of the digital assets when the exchange collapsed. “I think it would be helpful to finish my talk.” Kaplan eventually lost his patience and said,
After Bankman-Fried’s lawyer argued with the judge that the sentence should be reduced (he said his client was a “beautiful enigma”), the former cryptocurrency prodigy addressed the judge directly.
“In the end, I let everyone down,” said Bankman-Fried, wearing a baggy prison-issued shirt. He continued to reaffirm his responsibility. He said FTX victims should have been compensated in full, but he never was. “That was partly my doing.”
And he implicitly defended text messages he sent to Ryne Miller, FTX’s former general counsel and prosecution witness. “I’d like to get back in touch and see if there’s a way we can have a constructive relationship,” he said. ”
He concluded his speech to Kaplan by saying there was a silver lining that FTX victims might end up getting their fill. (in letter to judgeCurrent FTX Real Estate CEO John Jay Ray III said full repayment is not a foregone conclusion.)
judge’s reprimand
At the end of the hearing, Kaplan addressed Bankman-Fried, saying the former CEO had “never expressed remorse for his crimes.”
Kaplan repeatedly referenced the testimony of Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of cryptocurrency hedge fund Alameda Trading (a sister company of FTX) and Bankman-Fried’s former romantic partner, claiming that the former CEO, far from repenting for his crimes, “showed remorse.” “I showed it,” he said. “The guy made a very bad bet about getting caught.”
Kaplan added that Bankman-Fried documented at least three instances of perjury during trials. “I’ve never seen a performance like this,” he said of the FTX co-founder’s time on the witness stand.
He read the sentence. Bankman-Fried’s father had his head between his legs, and his mother had her eyes cast downward. The court cleared before noon.
Editor: Andrew Hayward