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Author: Turner Wright, CoinTelegraph; Compilation: Baishui, Bitchain Vision
On March 28, former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried will face a judge to find out if his sentence in federal prison ends or just begins as he was convicted on seven felony charges.
Judge Lewis Kaplan will hear statements from prosecutors and SBF attorneys in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the last time the former FTX CEO appears in court in person as part of his criminal case.A sentencing hearing could end the case, which began with the FTX collapse in November 2022 and was until the SBF was arrested, extraditioned, tried and convicted.
Source: Will Robbins
In November 2023, a jury found SBF guilty of wire fraud, securities fraud, commodity fraud and money laundering.The former CEO’s lawyer pioneered the sentencing recommendation, suggesting that SBF was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison for causing FTX investors to lose millions of dollars in funds.
The maximum sentence for the seven felony charges is 110 years.Prosecutors recommended that SBF serve 40 to 50 years to “reflect the seriousness of the defendant’s crime”, but the final decision will depend on Judge Kaplan’s interpretation of the case and considerations for the victims and affected parties.
“I think you’ll see a sentence like this: I’m going to be sentenced to about 30 years in prison, and that’s the sentence I think [SBF] will get—maybe more,” Mark Beanie, former assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District (Mark Bini) said.The current partner of Reed Smith law firm in New York pointed out.“There is a lot of controversy between the government and the defense regarding the loss figures – what is the actual loss amount, because that is an important driver of the guidelines.”
Biney said sentencing guidelines would require judge Kaplan to consider the amount lost when FTX collapses, rather than any repayment plans the company proposed in the bankruptcy proceedings.One of the proposed plans will compensate cryptocurrencies lost by FTX users in a fiat way based on the November 2022 price – many point out that this will lead them to miss out on the recent surge in Bitcoin and other token prices.
“My whole life has been ruined,” said an unidentified FTX user with two children in a victim impact statement filed in court.“I disagree with SBF taking risks with my funds.”
Source: Tiffany Fong
SBF’s case is mainly about new cases where famous figures in the digital asset field have undergone a full trial and are convicted and sentenced.Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road Market, was sentenced to two life sentences in 2015 without parole.Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for exaggerating or forging statements about the company’s blood testing technology.
In the cryptocurrency space, former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has pleaded guilty to a felony related to failure to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program on cryptocurrency exchanges and is scheduled to be sentenced in April.Alex Mashinsky, former CEO of Celsius Group, is accused of fraud and misleading clients and will be tried in September.
“I don’t think we’re going to see [CZ] cases being affected that much because they are very different in types,” Beeni said.“The Masinski case could have significant consequences because now representing the SBF is the same defense attorney and both are in the Southern District of New York. They are not exactly the same, but […] Masinski will certainlyWatch.”
SBF’s sentencing began in New York on March 28 at 9:30 a.m. ET, the first time his self-attorney has waived a potential conflict of interest.It is unclear whether SBF’s family will be present.
