Sam Bankman-Fried Sentenced To 25 Years:
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Thursday for stealing $8 billion from customers of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange. According to a Reuters report, US District Judge Lewis Kaplan rejected Bankman-Fried’s claim in a Manhattan court hearing that FTX customers did not actually lose money and accused him of lying during trial testimony.
The court found Bankman-Fried, 32, guilty on November 2 on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy arising from the 2022 collapse of FTX, which prosecutors have called one of the largest financial frauds in US history.
Justice Lewis Kaplan said Bankman-Fried showed no remorse and he knew it was wrong. The judge said, “He knew it was criminal. He regrets that he made a very bad bet about the possibility of getting caught. But he will not admit anything.”
Bankman-Fried, known as the ‘Crypto King’, acknowledged during 20 minutes of remarks before the judge that FTX customers had suffered losses and offered an apology to his former FTX colleagues.