Share this @internewscast.com

Sam Bankman-Fried will learn his sentence Thursday, four months after he was found guilty of orchestrating the multibillion-dollar fraud that prompted the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange.

A federal jury in New York City convicted Bankman-Fried, 32, in November on each of the two counts of fraud and five counts of conspiracy he faced. He has been jailed at the Metropolitan Detention Center facility in Brooklyn ever since, with his bail having been revoked over witness-tampering allegations.

Federal prosecutors are seeking as much as 50 years of the statutory 110-year sentence implied by the conviction. Bankman-Fried apparently lacks a criminal history, and prosecutors rarely seek the statutory maximum, said John Coffee, a professor at Columbia University Law School specializing in white-collar criminal defense.

But the nature of the fraud, Bankman-Fried’s comfortable upbringing and the scale of losses to victims led prosecutors to nevertheless seek an aggressive sentence.

“In every part of his business, and with respect to each crime committed, the defendant demonstrated a brazen disrespect for the rule of law,” the prosecutors wrote. “He understood the rules, but decided they did not apply to him. He knew what society deemed illegal and unethical, but disregarded that based on a pernicious megalomania guided by the defendant’s own values and sense of superiority.”

The prosecutors said Bankman-Fried “knew his customers’ expectations — that he would hold their money safe — but he disregarded them based on a callous belief that he could put their money to better use.

Bankman-Fried’s defense team is asking for 6½ years or less. In a 98-page filing pleading for leniency, they cited Bankman-Fried’s mental health struggles, his purported selflessness in his personal life and the safety risks he faces in prison.

They also argued FTX victims did not end up suffering losses — a notion against which the exchange’s current overseer, John Ray, has pushed back.

“There are plenty of things we did not get back, like the bribes to Chinese officials or the hundreds of millions of dollars he spent to buy access to or time with celebrities or politicians or investments for which he grossly overpaid having done zero diligence,” Ray wrote in a March 20 memo. “The harm was vast. The remorse is nonexistent.”

While the price of bitcoin has begun to surge again, FTX victims are entitled to recover crypto assets only at the prices observed when the exchange filed for bankruptcy.

Bankman-Fried’s consistent lack of remorse throughout the trial is likely to weigh on the sentence U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan hands down, Coffee said.

Bankman-Fried has “held to the line that he sympathizes with the victims and wants to help them get their money back. That’s not going to work,” Coffee said. “He’s got to find a way to walk a careful line, without abandoning his appeal, to express some contrition. Otherwise the judge is going to say: ‘This guy’s just sticking it to me.'”

A separate Bureau of Prisons official will decide where Bankman-Fried ends up serving his sentence. Federal cases do not allow the possibility of parole, but Coffee said Bankman-Fried may end up having some years shaved off his term for good behavior.

But it’s unlikely to add up to much of a reduction, Coffee said.

“He’s facing real time,” he said.

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like
Meghan Markle shares rare footage of Prince Harry with Archie and Lilibet on Father's Day

Meghan Markle Unveils Unseen Clips of Prince Harry with Archie and Lilibet on Father’s Day

Meghan Markle unveiled a collection of previously unseen videos featuring her husband,…
Padilla handcuffing raises the stakes for Democrats confronting administration

Padilla Detainment Intensifies Democratic Tensions with Administration

The arrest of Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) heightens the tension for upcoming…
Suspected Minnesota lawmaker assassin Vance Boelter captured

Minnesota Politician Murder Suspect Vance Boelter Arrested

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Democratic Minnesota Sen. Amy…
Medicaid enrollees fear losing health coverage if Congress enacts work requirements

Medicaid Recipients Worry About Potential Health Coverage Loss Due to Proposed Work Requirements

It took Crystal Strickland years to qualify for Medicaid, which she needs…
Broadview facility immigration case check-in requests over Father's Day weekend raise ICE raid fears, Chicago families say

Concerns of ICE Raids Emerge as Broadview Facility Schedules Immigration Check-Ins Over Father’s Day Weekend, Say Chicago Families

BROADVIEW, Ill. (WLS) — There were concerns this Father’s Day over potential…
NBA star Tyler Herro claims he doesn't believe in 'history'

NBA Player Tyler Herro Expresses Skepticism About the Importance of ‘History’

Don’t know much about history. Miami Heat star Tyler Herro stated he…
Colorado terror attack exposes ‘national security threat’ posed by immigrant visa overstays: former FBI agent

Colorado Terror Attack Highlights ‘National Security Risk’ from Immigrant Visa Overstays, Says Ex-FBI Agent

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! A former FBI agent…
Trampoline at fairgrounds where a child received an electric shock.

Tragic Incident: Two-Year-Old Dies from Electrocution on Trampoline, Three Other Children Injured in Unusual Fairground Accident in Spain

A TWO-year-old girl died and three other children were injured – after…
Community mourns tragic loss of Jacksonville woman shot in the head

Jacksonville Community Grieves Over Woman Fatally Shot

A $3,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest…
Nearby state on alert as search for Minnesota lawmaker shooter continues

Minnesota Governor Commends Police for Capturing Suspected Lawmaker Killer After Intense Two-Day Search

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! After an exhausting search…
Nearby state on alert as search for Minnesota lawmaker shooter continues

Minnesota Governor Expresses Gratitude to Police for Capturing Suspect in House Speaker’s Alleged Murder After Two-Day Search

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Following an exhaustive two-day…
Trump directs ICE to prioritize deportations in major cities

Trump orders ICE to focus on deportations in key cities

He mentioned that officials need to intensify their attempts to apprehend and…