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 He has been jailed at the Metropolitan Detention Center facility in Brooklyn ever since, with his bail having been revoked over witness-tampering allegations.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
Manchester Mosque Hires Sharia Law Administrator

Manchester Mosque Appoints Sharia Law Coordinator

England is quietly becoming the Western capital of Sharia law courts —…
Hispanic Heritage Month: Chicago fire station transformed into Yollocalli art museum in Little Village

Hispanic Heritage Month: Chicago Fire Station Converted into Yollocalli Art Museum in Little Village

CHICAGO (WLS) — A former fire station in Chicago has been transformed…
Texas sheriff arrested by his own deputies, now faces new charge for lying to grand jury

Texas Sheriff Arrested by Own Deputies, Now Charged with Lying to Grand Jury

A Texas sheriff, previously taken into custody and detained in his own…
Des Moines Public School Board accepts superintendent's resignation after ICE arrest

Ex-Des Moines Schools Superintendent Arrested by DOJ on Federal Firearms and Immigration Charges

The former Iowa school district superintendent detained by immigration authorities last week…
State-of-the-art technology restores classic film 'The Sound of Music' to its clear, bright, colorful glory 60 years after release

Cutting-edge technology revives ‘The Sound of Music,’ enhancing its clarity, brightness, and color 60 years post-release

BURBANK, Calif — To celebrate “The Sound of Music” on its 60th…
Musk becomes first person worth $500B

Musk Achieves Status as First $500 Billion Individual

(The Hill) — Elon Musk, the technology tycoon, temporarily reached a net…
Immigration judge denies Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s bid for asylum, but he has 30 days to appeal

Judge Rejects Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s Asylum Request, He Has 30 Days to File an Appeal

A U.S. immigration judge on Wednesday denied a bid for asylum from…
UK synagogue attack and Hamas hostage crisis underscore deadly Yom Kippur

Deadly Yom Kippur Marked by UK Synagogue Attack and Hamas Hostage Crisis

The ongoing menace of antisemitism was tragically highlighted on Thursday when two…
courtroom drawing of Sean "Diddy" Combs blowing kisses to people in the audience

Diddy Scheduled for Sentencing on Friday for Charges Linked to Prostitution

(NewsNation) — Sean “Diddy” Combs is scheduled to receive his sentence from…
Texas megachurch founder Robert Morris pleads guilty to child sex abuse charges

Texas Megachurch Leader Robert Morris Admits to Child Sexual Abuse Offenses

The founder of a Texas megachurch, who stepped down last year following…
Tim Allen puts things in 'reverse' for season debut of ABC's 'Shifting Gears,' invites some special visitors from his TV past

Tim Allen Rewinds for ABC’s ‘Shifting Gears’ Season Premiere, Welcomes Special Guests from Past TV Shows

BURBANK, Calif. — “Shifting Gears” is revving up for its second season.…
Sean 'Diddy' Combs' is set to be sentenced and faces the possibility of years in prison

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Awaits Sentencing, Could Face Lengthy Prison Term

Sean “Diddy” Combs faces sentencing Friday in a sordid criminal case that…