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FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried
Federal prosecutors have recommended a prison sentence of 40 to 50 years for Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of TX, who orchestrated one of the largest financial frauds in history.
In papers filed in Manhattan federal court on Friday, prosecutors argued that Bankman-Fried’s conduct in stealing at least $10 billion from investors and customers between 2017 and 2022 to buy luxury real estate, make risky investments, dispense outsized charitable donations and political contributions and to buy praise from celebrities, warrants a lengthy sentence. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 28th.
The prosecutors’ recommendation follows a 100-year prison sentence recommended by the court’s probation officers and a request by defense lawyers for leniency and a term of imprisonment not exceeding single digits.
Bankman-Fried, 32, was convicted in November on fraud and conspiracy charges after his dramatic fall from a year earlier when he and his companies seemed to be riding a crest of success that had resulted in a Super Bowl advertisement and celebrity endorsements from stars like quarterback Tom Brady and comedian Larry David.
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 crimes reflect a “brazen disrespect for the rule of law” and have harmed others who sought to “break generational poverty” only to be left “devastated” and “heartbroken.”
The prosecutors noted that Bankman-Fried’s “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.”
In addition, his $150 million in bribes to Chinese government officials was one of the single largest by an individual.
Bankman-Fried was extradited to the United States in December 2022 from the Bahamas after his companies collapsed a month earlier.
He was initially permitted to remain at home with his parents in Palo Alto, California, but was jailed last year weeks before his trial after Judge Lewis A. Kaplan concluded that he had tried to tamper with trial witnesses.
Bankman-Fried’s defense team has argued that their client should not receive a sentence of 100 years in prison, branding such a sentence as grotesque and barbaric.
They have instead calculated federal sentencing guidelines to recommend a term of five to 6 1/2 years in prison.
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