Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison for orchestrating FTX fraud

Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison for his role in defrauding users of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

In a federal courtroom in lower Manhattan, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan called the defense argument misleading, logically flawed and speculative.

He said Bankman-Fried had obstructed justice and tampered with witnesses in mounting his defense — something Kaplan said he weighed in his sentencing decision.

Bankman-Fried, wearing a beige jailhouse jumpsuit, struck an apologetic tone, saying he had made a series of "selfish" decisions while leading FTX and "threw it all away."

"It haunts me every day," he said in his statement.

Prosecutors had sought as much as 50 years, while Bankman-Fried's legal team argued for no more than 6½ years. He was convicted on seven criminal counts in November and had been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since.

In a statement following Thursday's sentencing, Damian Williams, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said Bankman-Fried had orchestrated one of the largest frauds in financial history.

“Today’s sentence will prevent the defendant from ever again committing fraud and is an important message to others who might be tempted to engage in financial crimes that justice will be swift, and the consequences will be severe.”

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland also issued a statement.

"There are serious consequences for defrauding customers and investors,” Garland said. “Anyone who believes they can hide their financial crimes behind wealth and power, or behind a shiny new thing they claim no one else is smart enough to understand, should think twice." 

Bankman-Fried plans to appeal both his conviction and sentence. A spokesperson for his parents issued a statement on their behalf: “We are heartbroken and will continue to fight for our son.”

Bankman-Fried's lawyers had pleaded for leniency, citing what they described as mental health struggles and his purported generosity in his personal life. They also argued that FTX users had not ultimately suffered substantial losses — something current FTX administrator John Ray said was false in a letter to Kaplan in advance of Thursday's sentencing.

But prosecutors argued the brazenness of the crime, the extent of the victims' losses and damages and Bankman-Fried's evident lack of remorse meant a harsher sentence was warranted.

Late Tuesday, prosecutors filed documents from victims testifying about how Bankman-Fried's actions had harmed them.

“My whole life has been destroyed,” wrote one, whose name was redacted, in a letter dated March 15. “I have 2 young children, one born right before the collapse. I still remember the weeks following where I would stare blankly into their eyes, completely empty inside knowing their futures have been stolen through no fault of our own. I did not gamble on crypto. I did not make any crypto gains. I had my [bitcoin] which I had collected over years deposited on FTX as a custodian. I did not agree to the risk that SBF took with my funds.” 

The man added he was suffering from depression and that his wife had become suicidal.