Crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to serve 25 years in prison

Disgraced crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried, who gained notoriety for defrauding users of his FTX exchange and for contributing vast sums to hosts of Democrat-aligned candidates and causes, was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in federal prison, as NBC News reports.

Convicted back in November, Bankman-Fried has since been in custody at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, but will now be making his way to a longer-term federal facility.

Though prosecutors had hoped Judge Lewis Kaplan would send Bankman-Fried away for at least 50 years, his own lawyers suggested that roughly six years would be more appropriate for the seven criminal counts on which their client was found guilty.

In the end, the judge considered factors such as his belief that Bankman-Fried had tampered with witnesses and attempted to obstruct justice in the case and handed down a sentence that could theoretically stretch for a quarter of a century.

Bankman-Fried attempted to express a degree of contrition in court, saying that he had acted in a “selfish” manner and “threw it all away,” something he said “haunts [him] every day.”

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams of the Southern District of New York issued a statement following the judge's decision, saying, “Today's sentence will prevent the defendant from ever again committing fraud and is an important message to others who might be tempted to engage in financial crimes that justice will be swift, and the consequences will be severe.”

Attorney General Merrick Garland also lauded the outcome, stating, “Anyone who believes they can hide their financial crimes behind wealth and power, or behind a shiny new thing they claim no one else is smart enough to understand, should think twice.”

Bankman-Fried will now await word on precisely where he will serve his prison sentence, with Judge Kaplan suggesting that he be sent “initially to a medium security facility or any lower security institution the [Bureau of Prisons] considers appropriate.” as Fox Business noted.

The reasons for his recommendation were twofold, with Kaplan stating, “First, I have no reason to believe that the defendant would initiate any act of violence against another prisoner or any BOP staff.”

“Second, defendant's notoriety. His association with vast wealth – regardless of his present and actual financial resources – and his autism and social awkwardness are likely to make him more than usually vulnerable to misconduct by other inmates in the environment of a maximum security facility,” the judge went on.

Kaplan also generously indicated his belief that Bankman-Fried's eventual destination “be as close to the San Francisco Bay Area as possible for the purpose of facilitating family visitation.”

Though the adjustment period for someone who once had access to all of life's luxuries will certainly be a difficult one, prison consultant Sam Mangel noted that if he plays his cards right with good behavior, Bankman-Fried could shave upwards of eight years off of his total incarceration time.

Such an outcome, however, would surely be a slap in the face to Bankman-Fried's many victims, one of whom wrote in a letter to the court, “My whole life has been destroyed. I have 2 young children, one born right before the collapse. I still remember the weeks following where I would stare blankly into their eyes, completely empty inside knowing their futures have been stolen through no fault of our own.”

Another victim explained, “Each passing day is a painful reminder of the opportunities stolen from me, compounding feelings of hopelessness and despair. The burden of financial ruin weighs heavily on my shoulders, leading me to grapple with constant thoughts of suicide and significantly impairing my ability to perform at work,” all part of the devastating fallout that will likely remain, regardless of how long Bankman-Fried is behind bars.