Cryptocurrency entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Thursday for a massive fraud that unraveled with the collapse of FTX. FTX was once one of the most popular digital currency trading platforms in the world.
Bankman-Fried, 32, was convicted of fraud and conspiracy in November, and the pinnacle of his success includes Super Bowl commercials and appearances by quarterback Tom Brady, basketball star Stephen Curry and comedian Larry With celebrity endorsements from the likes of Lee David, his peak of success plummeted.
U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan handed down the sentence in the same Manhattan courtroom four months after Bankman-Fried testified that his intention Use his innovative and selfless ideas to revolutionize the emerging cryptocurrency market, not steal.
Kaplan said the sentence reflected “the potential for this guy to do very bad things in the future. And that’s not a trivial risk at all.” He added that it was “intended to disqualify him for a significant period of time.” ability”.
Before sentencing, Bankman-Fried said, “My useful life may be over. It has been over for some time, starting before I was arrested.”
Prosecutors say Bankman-Fried misappropriated billions of dollars to advance his quest for influence and dominance in new industries, costing customers, investors and lenders more than $10 billion, and illegally used FTX depositors’ funds to cover his expenses , which included the purchase of luxury Caribbean properties, alleged bribes to Chinese officials and private jets.
Bankman-Fried is worth billions of dollars as co-founder and CEO of FTX, once the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange.
FTX allows investors to purchase dozens of virtual currencies, from Bitcoin to more obscure currencies like Shiba Inu Coin. Armed with billions of dollars in investor cash, Bankman-Fried took out Super Bowl ads to promote his business and bought the naming rights to a Miami stadium.
But the collapse in cryptocurrency prices in 2022 hit FTX hard and ultimately led to its downfall. Alameda Research, FTX’s hedge fund subsidiary, purchased billions of dollars in various cryptocurrency investments that lost significant amounts of value in 2022. Bankman-Fried attempted to plug holes in Alameda’s balance sheet with FTX client funds.
Three other people in Bankman-Fried’s inner circle pleaded guilty to related crimes and testified at his trial.
The most famous of the three is Caroline Ellison, who was Bankman-Fried’s girlfriend. Ellison described Bankman-Fried as a calculating man who knew he could commit crimes when directing the use of client funds. Two other former friends of Bankman-Fried, Gary Wang and Nishad Singh, also testified that they believed they were acting at Bankman-Fried’s direction to commit fraud.
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