People have become so cynical about the justice system that many believe now convicted crypto-scammer Sam Bankman-Fried will see little to no prison time, but even with our biased system that is unlikely.
Bankman-Fried was found guilty on all counts and he reportedly performed terribly on the stand at trial, hurting his own case in a big way.
He is facing a maximum sentence of 110 years and probably won’t get anything that extreme, but the judge in the case could certainly sentence him to decades behind bars.
Experts are speculating as to the length of his sentence.
Forbes reports:
Sam Bankman-Fried Faces 110-Year Max Sentence After FTX Trial—Here’s How Long Experts Think He’ll Be Behind Bars
Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty on all seven counts Thursday after a massive fraud and money laundering trial involving now-collapsed crypto exchange FTX and trading firm Alameda Research, charges that can lead to a maximum of 110 years in prison—and lawyers told Forbes he may face a decades-long sentence, unlike other white-collar defendants.
Most white-collar criminals whose maximum sentences could take up the rest of their lives end up only facing a small fraction of the maximum, with judges often basing their sentencing decisions on similar cases, Mitchell Epner, a former federal prosecutor and member of the law firm Rottenberg Lipman Rich, told Forbes.
However, Epner said Lewis Kaplan, the Manhattan-based federal judge who presided over Bankman-Fried’s case, may decide to break the trend and give Bankman-Fried a majority of the 110-year maximum permitted by federal law when he’s sentenced next year—citing Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff, who received a 150-year sentence in 2009.
Both Epner and Vermont Law School professor Jared Carter told Forbes they think Bankman-Fried will likely be sentenced to multiple decades in prison, with Epner adding he would be surprised if Bankman-Fried receives a sentence below 25 years.
You should also watch the prosecutor in the case talking about it below. He seems pretty serious about it and sounds like he wants to make an example out of Bankman-Fried.
“Sam Bankman-Fried perpetrated one of the biggest financial frauds in American history,” says U.S. attorney Damian Williams. “The cryptocurrency industry might be new. The players, like Sam Bankman-Fried, might be new. But this kind of corruption is as old as time.” pic.twitter.com/E5GonXXqpz
— Last Call (@LastCallCNBC) November 3, 2023
If you think about it, a 25 or 30 year sentence is a pretty good deal when you’re facing over 100.
