Current:Home > StocksProsecutors seek from 40 to 50 years in prison for Sam Bankman-Fried for cryptocurrency fraud -CapitalEdge
Prosecutors seek from 40 to 50 years in prison for Sam Bankman-Fried for cryptocurrency fraud
View
Date:2025-04-20 06:34:38
NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prosecutors asked a New York judge on Friday to sentence FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried to between 40 and 50 years in prison for cryptocurrency crimes they described as a “historic fraud.”
Prosecutors made the request as they submitted their presentence recommendations to a federal judge who will sentence a man who at one time dazzled the cryptocurrency world with his promotional skills, including his access to famous people willing to promote his businesses.
Bankman-Fried, 32, is scheduled to be sentenced in Manhattan federal court on March 28 for his November conviction on fraud and conspiracy charges.
Prosecutors say he cost customers and investors in FTX and its related companies at least $10 billion from 2017 through 2022.
He was extradited to the United States in December 2022 from the Bahamas after his companies collapsed a month earlier. Originally permitted to remain at home with his parents in Palo Alto, California, he was jailed last year weeks before his trial after Judge Lewis A. Kaplan concluded that he had tried to tamper with trial witnesses.
In their presentence submission, prosecutors described Bankman-Fried’s crimes as “one of the largest financial frauds in history, and what is likely the largest fraud in the last decade.”
“The defendant victimized tens of thousands of people and companies, across several continents, over a period of multiple 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 in illegal donations into our political system; and he bribed foreign officials. Each of these crimes is worthy of a lengthy sentence,” they wrote.
They said his “unlawful political donations to over 300 politicians and political action groups, amounting to in excess of $100 million, is believed to be the largest-ever campaign finance offense.”
And they said his $150 million in bribes to Chinese government officials was one of the single largest by an individual.
“Even following FTX’s bankruptcy and his subsequent arrest, Bankman-Fried shirked responsibility, deflected blame to market events and other individuals, attempted to tamper with witnesses, and lied repeatedly under oath,” prosecutors said, citing his testimony at trial.
Two weeks ago, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers attacked a probation office recommendation that their client serve 100 years in prison, saying a sentence of that length would be “grotesque” and “barbaric.”
They urged the judge to sentence Bankman-Fried to just a few years behind bars after calculating federal sentencing guidelines to recommend a term of five to 6 1/2 years in prison.
“Sam is not the ‘evil genius’ depicted in the media or the greedy villain described at trial,” his lawyers wrote. “Sam is a 31-year-old, first-time, non-violent offender, who was joined in the conduct at issue by at least four other culpable individuals, in a matter where victims are poised to recover — were always poised to recover — a hundred cents on the dollar.”
veryGood! (3)
Related
- 'Most Whopper
- How Blake Lively Honored Queen Britney Spears During Red Carpet Date Night With Ryan Reynolds
- Caeleb Dressel on his Olympics, USA swimming's future and wanting to touch grass
- Buca di Beppo files for bankruptcy and closes restaurants. Which locations remain open?
- Grammy nominee Teddy Swims on love, growth and embracing change
- Customers line up on Ohio’s first day of recreational marijuana sales
- Global stock volatility hits the presidential election, with Trump decrying a ‘Kamala Crash’
- Former national park worker in Mississippi pleads guilty to theft
- Paige Bueckers vs. Hannah Hidalgo highlights women's basketball games to watch
- Jack Black says Tenacious D 'will be back' following Kyle Gass' controversial comments
Ranking
- The city of Chicago is ordered to pay nearly $80M for a police chase that killed a 10
- Study Links Permian Blowouts With Wastewater Injection
- There will be no 'next Michael Phelps.' Calling Leon Marchand that is unfair
- Pitbull Stadium: 'Mr. Worldwide' buys naming rights for FIU football stadium
- Will the 'Yellowstone' finale be the last episode? What we know about Season 6, spinoffs
- Spain vs. Brazil highlights: Brazil holds off comeback, will play for Olympic gold
- E! Exclusive Deal: Score 21% off a Relaxing Aromatherapy Bundle Before Back-to-School Stress Sets In
- Hard Knocks with Bears: Caleb Williams in spotlight, Jonathan Owens supports Simone Biles
Recommendation
SFO's new sensory room helps neurodivergent travelers fight flying jitters
Could another insurrection happen in January? This film imagines what if
Lucille Ball's daughter shares rare photo with brother Desi Arnaz Jr.
Kamala Harris' vice president pick Tim Walz has a history of Taylor Swift, Beyoncé fandom
US appeals court rejects Nasdaq’s diversity rules for company boards
Bob Woodward’s next book, ‘War,’ will focus on conflict abroad and politics at home
Exclusive: Oklahoma death row inmate Emmanuel Littlejohn wants forgiveness, mercy
Olympic Pole Vaulter Anthony Ammirati Offered $250,000 From Adult Website After