- Sam Bankman-Fried’s prison term hinges on the judge deciding whether or not he is a crypto Bernie Madoff.
- Prosecutors want a sentence ranging from 40 to 50 years, liking him to Madoff.
- SBF’s defense team advocates for a maximum sentence of six and a half years.
According to Bloomberg, the fate of disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) now hinges on persuading the judge that his crime is not similar to Bernie Madoff, who is arguably the greatest fraudster of all time.
In this Thursday’s sentencing, the judge must determine whether the SBF is merely a conventional financial fraudster or a figure rivaling the infamous Bernie Madoff. Emphatically, the adopted perspective will determine whether the 32-year-old fraudster will spend most of his future behind prison walls or see release in his middle years.
The report cited that prosecutors are pushing for a sentence ranging from 40 to 50 years. They describe SBF’s offense as “likely the largest fraud of the last decade,” impacting over 1 million victims with over $10 billion in losses.
Meanwhile, Bankman-Fried’s defense team advocates for a maximum sentence of six and a half years. They cited his philanthropic endeavors and disputed prosecutors’ portrayal of him as a depraved supervillain deserving of incarceration until old age.
Former federal prosecutor Michael Weinstein anticipates that Bankman-Fried could receive a sentence ranging from 25 to 32 years. Weinstein has described him as this millennials’ Bernie Madoff.
In their court submission, prosecutors likened Bankman-Fried’s impact to Madoff’s, whose crimes tallied around $13 billion in losses. Bankman-Fried, in his defense, maintained that his actions did not harm customers or lenders. He argued that despite FTX’s bankruptcy filing, the crypto exchange remained financially sound, with the money always accessible.
Notably, Madoff received a 150-year prison sentence but passed away in 2021 after spending roughly twelve years behind bars. Bankman-Fried’s destiny rests in the hands of U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan.
In determining Bankman-Fried’s sentence, the judge will reference guidelines initially introduced in 1987 to address disparities within the federal criminal justice system. These guidelines factor in the severity of the offense and the offender’s criminal history.
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