Court Set to Announce FTX Founder Prison Sentence, as Prosecutor Argues For 50 Years Jail Term  

The highly anticipated sentencing of former FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is scheduled to take place today at 13:30 (UTC). 

According to CNBC reporter MacKenzie Sigalos, the sentencing proceedings of the FTX founder will be held at a federal courthouse in Manhattan, the same venue where SBF was found guilty of all seven criminal charges last year. 

3 hours till SBF sentencing hearing gets going at SDNY’s courthouse downtown. Time FLIES when you’re sitting in a puddle working in the rain. Spoke to fmr federal prosecutors & trial attorneys – consensus is 20-30 year prison sentence likely: https://t.co/P4bvtz3hPC pic.twitter.com/jk5BlzHaW2

— MacKenzie Sigalos (@KenzieSigalos) March 28, 2024

Prosecutor Seeks Up to 50 Years Jail Term for SBF 

SBF faces a maximum sentence of over 100 years following his role that led to the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. 

Judge Lewis Kaplan has been considering the appropriate punishment to impose against the former FTX exec after he was found guilty in November 2023. 

In the meantime, prosecutors are asking the judge to give SBF a prison sentence ranging from 40 to 50 years. To get an edge against the defense team, prosecutors recently handed Kaplan a letter from one of FTX’s victims to sway the judge ahead of the sentencing. 

The victim, whose identity was concealed, claimed he lost his 30 years of savings worth $4 million after FTX filed for bankruptcy in 2022. The father of two said the implosion of FTX and its sister hedge fund Alameda Research cost him financial losses, his happiness, and his desire to continue living. 

It is worth noting that the court is familiar with this type of story as the prosecutors used the same tactic to convince the juror in November that SBF stole at least $8 billion. 

Defense Counsel Argue for a Maximum of 6.5 Years Sentence  

While prosecutors want SBF to spend 40 to 50 years in jail, the defense team pleads for a maximum prison sentence of not more than six-and-a-half years. 

The rationale behind this plea is that FTX’s customers would get most, if not all, of the money they lost when the exchange collapsed. This was first disclosed last month by the legal team representing the bankruptcy estate.

The attorneys emphasized the company’s willingness to reimburse customers and creditors with valid claims completely. Notably, the likelihood of FTX fully repaying victims has increased recently, as the prices of crypto assets owned by the exchange have recorded huge gains. 

For instance, Solana (SOL), one of the crypto assets in FTX’s portfolio, has spiked heavily in recent times. The coin’s value has surged to $183 from the $9 it crashed to when the FTX implosion occurred.