Lawyers representing Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried are expected to submit their sentencing recommendation for the former FTX CEO on February 27th, and the crypto community is buzzing with opinions.
On November 3rd, a jury convicted Bankman-Fried on seven felony counts, some of which carry a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Judge Lewis Kaplan will receive the recommendations from SBF’s lawyers on February 27th, and from prosecutors on March 15th, ultimately deciding the fate of the former FTX CEO.
If given the maximum sentence, SBF’s conviction on two counts of wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud conspiracy, one count of securities fraud, one count of commodities fraud conspiracy, and one count of money laundering conspiracy could potentially result in a prison term of around 110 years. However, legal experts and former prosecutors have pointed out that judges typically do not impose the maximum penalty unless there are extraordinary circumstances.
Renato Mariotti, a former prosecutor with the U.S. Justice Department’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Section, stated in December that he “wouldn’t be surprised if SBF spends the next 20 or 25 years of his life in prison.” Lawyer Devin James Stone, who runs the YouTube channel LegalEagle, also shared his thoughts after Bankman-Fried’s conviction, emphasizing that the scale of the crimes and the amounts stolen, as well as the defendant’s criminal history, are important factors in determining the sentence. Stone suggested that Judge Kaplan could potentially sentence Bankman-Fried to 15 to 25 years in prison, along with restitution.
Initially, Bankman-Fried was scheduled for a second criminal trial in March to address five additional charges, but prosecutors announced in December that they did not intend to proceed. This suggests that SBF may face a harsher sentence with forfeiture and restitution for FTX victims, as the government is willing to forgo a second trial.
Crypto users have also been sharing their opinions on the matter. One user, Batsy, commented that Bankman-Fried “doesn’t deserve life, but if he doesn’t get sentenced to a minimum of 20 years, I would be surprised.” Another user mentioned that FTX co-founder Gary Wang should receive equal time as Bankman-Fried, and Caroline Ellison, another former executive, should be sentenced to a minimum of 5 years.
Bankman-Fried appeared in court on February 21st, where he waived conflicts of interest for his attorneys, as well as for former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky. The attorneys who represented SBF at his criminal trial withdrew from the case before the sentencing hearing.
Bankman-Fried will be the first among four other former FTX executives tied to the same docket to face a judge for sentencing. Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, Ryan Salame, and Nishad Singh, all pleaded guilty to various charges. Salame is scheduled to be sentenced on May 1st.
Given the collapse of FTX, many are questioning whether crypto exchanges can be trusted.