by WorldTribune Staff / 247 Real News March 29, 2024
“Remorseless” scam artist and top Democrat donor Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced on Thursday to 25 years in federal prison.
The 32-year-old, found guilty of stealing more than $8 billion from FTX customers, faced over 100 years in the slammer.
How much of the 25 years will the disgraced crypto king actually serve?
Federal crimes are not eligible for parole, but Bankman-Fried could cut considerable time off his sentence — as high as 40 or 50% — with good behavior and completing prison rehabilitation programs, the New York Post cited Mark Bini, a veteran prosecutor-turned-defense lawyer, as saying.
Bankman-Fried could end up serving as little as 12.5 years.
If SBF “shoots himself in the foot as he has done in the past, he’s going to do the whole 25 years,” Bini told The Post, referring to how Bankman-Fried breached the terms of his release while on bail when he leaked the personal writings of his former lover and business associate Caroline Ellison to a New York Times reporter.
Another way the scam artist could have his sentence reduced is by the court for extraordinary reasons, such as medical issues, former prosecutor Jordan Estes told CNN.
“Since the pandemic, courts have been more willing to grant early release under this provision if the defendant has served a substantial portion of his or her sentence,” Estes said.
Bankman-Fried was also ordered to pay an $11 billion fine and forfeit assets that could be used to pay it off. FTX hit $40 billion at its peak.
Honor their memory: The ‘shot heard round the world’
Ahead of his sentencing, the fraudster apologized before the judge for making “bad decisions” and failing “everyone I care about.”
“At the end of the day, I failed everyone that I care about and everything that I care about, too,” he said Thursday. “A lot of people feel really let down and, I’m sorry about that. I’m sorry about what happened at every stage.”
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan suggested that Bankman-Fried — who is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn — be sentenced to serve his time in a medium-security prison near his family’s home in Northern California.
25 years for Bankman-Fried: How much of it will he serve? added by Editor Two on
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