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NEW YORK, US – JANUARY 03: Sam Bankman-Fried leaves the court in New York, on January 03, 2023. 

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In a letter to the Department of Justice, an FTX customer who lost $4 million when the exchange filed for bankruptcy in 2022 expressed disgust at a circulating narrative that clients of the crypto exchange would ever be made whole.

“I have scraped the docket of scheduled claims and calculated the exact amount stolen,” wrote the former FTX customer, whose identity has been concealed by the government. “The total value of customer liabilities is $19,722,911,002.84.”

This week, that letter ended up on the desk of U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who on Thursday will inform FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried of his prison sentence stemming from his role in the collapse of the exchange. At 9:30 a.m., sentencing proceedings will take place on the 26th floor of the federal courthouse in downtown Manhattan, the same place where a jury found the former crypto executive guilty of all seven criminal counts against him in November.

The victim, who wrote that 30 years worth of savings had been deposited into FTX three months before the exchange collapsed, is part of a last-minute push by prosecutors to sway Judge Kaplan ahead of the sentencing.

“My whole life has been destroyed,” the person wrote. “I have 2 young children, one born right before the collapse. Beyond the money, I lost my happiness, my ability to get out of bed, my desire to continue living. My wife is suicidal and depressed.”

The same sorts of stories were told during Bankman-Fried’s monthlong criminal trial last year. Prosecutors won their case by convincing jurors that Bankman-Fried had stolen at least $8 billion from customers. For some people, that meant financial ruin.

“In its sentencing submission, the prosecution has included moving accounts from FTX’s former customers that speak to the devastation experienced by those losing their money, the uncertainty of wondering whether they might ever get any of it back, and dealing with the emotional fallout of being duped,” said Yesha Yadav, law professor and Associate Dean at Vanderbilt University. “These victim impact statements can be very powerful.”

Sam Bankman-Fried faces up to 50 years in prison at sentencing hearing

Bankman-Fried, 32, faces a maximum sentence of more than 100 years in prison, though the government has suggested a sentence in the range of 40 to 50 years. The defense is angling for no more than 6.5 years.

For months, Judge Kaplan has been weighing the appropriate punishment for Bankman-Fried’s crimes related to the implosion of his $32 billion crypto empire.

CNBC spoke to former federal prosecutors, trial attorneys, and a mix of lawyers working to defend white collar criminals to get their take on what to expect on Thursday.

Damaging testimony

Bankman-Fried was convicted of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud against FTX customers and against lenders to sister hedge fund Alameda Research, as well as conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to commit commodities fraud against FTX investors, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The defense team has argued that Bankman-Fried’s sentence should reflect the potential that FTX customers will be paid back in part or in full. The likelihood of that scenario has increased in recent months thanks to the rising value of cryptocurrencies and other assets FTX owned, such as its stake in artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.

Even as the bankruptcy estate promises to pay customers back, many of FTX’s thousands of victims argue that their crypto stakes have been significantly undervalued by the exchange’s new leadership team.

“A lot will be said about the loss at the time of the conduct, not the recovery or potential recovery after it was discovered,” said former federal and state prosecutor David Weinstein, who now practices as a corporate compliance and white collar defense attorney at Jones Walker. Weinstein said he expects to see a sentence in the range of 30 to 40 years.

Mark Bini, a former state and federal prosecutor and U.S. assistant attorney who specialized in financial crimes, anticipates a sentence of no less than 30 years. 

“Probation calculates the guidelines at 110 years,” said Bini, who currently represents white collar crypto defendants as part of law firm Reed Smith’s On Chain digital asset team. “I think the judge is likely to side with probation and the government on the loss amount and the appropriate guidelines.”

Caroline Ellison, former chief executive officer of Alameda Research LLC, arrives to court in New York, US, on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Judge Kaplan, 78, is a veteran of the Southern District of New York and has presided over some of the biggest cases to roll through his courthouse. He showed little patience for Bankman-Fried during the defendant’s four days on the stand.

“Unfortunately for SBF, some of his testimony at trial came across as highly evasive, somewhat cold and often contradictory,” said Yadav, adding that a sentence of 20 to 25 years could offer Judge Kaplan a way to balance the severity of the crime with a recognition of customer recoveries and the potential for future rehabilitation.

Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani described Kaplan as “old school” and predicted a sentence of 20 to 30 years.

Tre Lovell, a Los Angeles corporate law attorney, said the core factors Kaplan will consider will be the extent of the fraud, along with the fact that Bankman-Fried appeared to have lied under oath while showing little remorse.

“The judge isn’t going to cut Bankman-Fried a break just because FTX has recovered a lot of funds to offset the amount that customers lost,” Lovell said. “The judge is just going to look at Bankman-Fried’s conduct at the time he was in charge of the company, not what the company did after he stepped down as CEO.”

Bankman-Fried has one last chance to take the stand in front of the judge in order to show some level of contrition and a promise to become a benefit to society.

“If he says he’s had a chance to think about what he did and that he’s very sorry for misusing the hard-won funds of investors, and that he wants to use his acumen in this field for the public good, then he may walk out with a prison sentence that is south of 20 years,” Lovell said. “In court, it’s never too late to say you’re sorry. But he won’t get a big discount on his sentence just for being contrite.”

WATCH: Prosecutors recommend a 40-50 year prison sentence for Bankman-Fried

Prosecutors recommend a prison sentence of 40-50 years for Sam Bankman-Fried in FTX fraud

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Another hydrogen fail as Renault subsidiary Hyvia struggles to survive

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Another hydrogen fail as Renault subsidiary Hyvia struggles to survive

French hydrogen firm Hyvia has been given a stay of execution. The Commercial Court of Versaille has given Hyvia a few extra weeks to get through its insolvency proceedings and find a buyer – but, frankly, it ain’t lookin’ good.

Hyvia began life as a joint venture between French carmaker Renault and American company Plug Power in 2021, but as anyone with more than a social media headline-deep knowledge of hydrogen’s shortcomings as a transportation already know: it’s impossible for hydrogen to compete with BEVs.

The facts surrounding hydrogen fuel cells remain the kind of lessons that people insist on learning the expensive way, however – and companies like Hyzon, Nikola, and even GM seem intent on spending more millions to learn them, even as genuine engineering experts like Mahle insist that the costs (and carbon emissions) of hydrogen remain impractically high for all but the most specialized use cases.

To its credit, Renault seems to have learned those rather expensive lessons about hydrogen well – and has learned so much about hydrogen that it’s committed to a full range of battery electric delivery vans. The French carmaker’s new vans range in size from something like an MPV/minivan on up to a box van and something like one of the Amazon delivery vans built by Rivian called the Estafette E-Tech (below, center).

Renault commercial electric vans

Electric commercial vans, via Renault.

But this article isn’t about Renault’s EVs, it’s about the hydrogen-powered Hyvia brand – and Hyvia doesn’t seem to be long for this world. That hard truth becomes even more obvious when you read the company’s own statement on the matter, which is almost wholly devoid of self-awareness and full of external blame:

For three years, HYVIA, one of the first companies to invest and innovate in hydrogen mobility, has developed an offer, in a market which unfortunately still remains absent.

The too slow evolution of hydrogen mobility ecosystems in Europe and the very significant development costs required for H2 innovation led to this decision.

HYVIA

When I first wrote about Hyzon retreating from Australia’s shores, I noted something interesting: Australia’s commercial BEV sales were booming. The same is true in the US, as well, with Cox Automotive expecting fully 1 in 4 new cars sold this year to be fully electric.

It seems like the market has spoken, then – and hydrogen has lost.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Hyvia, H2.

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E-quipment highlight: Liebherr Liduro Power Port 100 portable equipment charger

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E-quipment highlight: Liebherr Liduro Power Port 100 portable equipment charger

The new Liebherr Liduro Power Port 100 is the company’s newest, smallest battery energy storage system to charge electric construction equipment or power up a mobile office – and it’s coming to bauma 2025.

Access to power on construction sites can be limited or non-existent – even if you’re working for the power company! Liebherr understands this better than most, and they’re developing a series of portable energy storage solutions like the Liduro Power Port (LPO) to make sure electrified job sites can keep the lights on.

Liebherr put the LPO 100 to work by French construction firm CJ Bois, in France, to power a 65 K.1 bottom-slewing crane on a construction site. With access to a standard 2 kW household outlet, the LPO 100 was able to deliver up to 26 kW power up to on-site equipment the next day.

“Available for sale and very soon for rental, Liduro completes our commercial offering,” comments Cyrille Prudhomme, business development manager at Liebherr Distribution and Services France. “(The LPO) enables us to expand our service offering to our customers by providing a concrete response to the electrification of the construction sites and many other applications.”

For their part, CJ Bois seems happy with the Liduro. “We were very pleasantly surprised by how quiet it was throughout the worksite,” says the site manager at CJ Bois. “Compared to an internal combustion engine generator, Liduro significantly improves our working conditions, and we feel less tired at the end of the day. It also facilitates communication on site, which contributes to staff safety.”

Liebherr will bring the LPO 100 to bauma for the first time this year, with customer deliveries set to begin soon after. The company says it can be used with maximum efficiency to supply electricity to fast-erecting tower cranes and small- to medium-sized machines like Liebherr’s own L 507 E compact electric wheel loader.

Electrek’s Take

CJ Bois deploys the Liebherr LPO 100; via Liebherr.

If this concept seems familiar, it’s because we’ve covered something very similar before – the Volvo CE PU (Power Unit) 750 and 130 portable power stations.

As fleets are forced to electrify through a combination of customers’ ESG goals, noise regulations, and environmental regulations (though, probably not American regulations), the need to get usable power to where work is being done becomes a critical variable for fleets to solve for. Solutions like this will help some fleets electrify sooner than later, and that’s why we’re all here.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Liebherr, via Heavy Equipment Guide.

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Two weeks left to win your dream EV in Climate XChange’s raffle. Enter before tickets sell out!

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Two weeks left to win your dream EV in Climate XChange's raffle. Enter before tickets sell out!

Climate XChange’s 9th Annual EV Raffle is your chance to win the electric car of your dreams – but with just two weeks left and fewer than a third of tickets remaining, now’s the time to grab yours!

Imagine designing your dream EV precisely how you want it – every detail customized, up to $120,000, with all taxes covered. That’s the reality for the Grand Prize winner – and it could be you.

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Climate XChange

How it works

Climate XChange, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is driving the transition to a zero-emissions economy nationwide – and you can support its mission by purchasing a raffle ticket.

Enter at CarbonRaffle.org/Electrek. Every ticket you buy is one entry to win. Climate XChange is only selling 5,000 tickets, which means your odds are better here than most internet sweepstakes. And with fewer than a third of the available tickets remaining, ensure you don’t miss out on your dream EV!

Plus, you can feel good knowing your ticket supports an amazing cause: pushing for state-level climate action and advancing the transition to a zero-emissions economy.

The last day to purchase a raffle ticket is February 26, or when they sell out.

The prizes

  • Grand Prize: Custom-built EV of your choice, valued up to $120,000, with all taxes covered.
  • 2nd Place: $12,500 cash.
  • 3rd Place: $7,500 cash.

That’s three chances of winning, and no matter how many tickets Climate XChange sells, it will still give away the grand prize EV.

Why enter?

Climate XChange

For nearly a decade, Climate XChange has been turning dreams into reality. Last year’s winner drove away in a custom red Tesla Model X Plaid – and now it’s your turn.

Climate XChange runs a tight ship to ensure a fair and transparent raffle. It prints every ticket stub and live-streams the entire drawing process – including loading the raffle drum – so you can be confident the winners are chosen fairly. It also hires independent auditors to oversee the raffle to ensure that every ticket purchased is correct and entered into the drawing.

BUY YOUR TICKET TODAY at CarbonRaffle.org/Electrek and start daydreaming about what your perfect car will look like!

Who is Climate XChange?

Climate XChange (CXC) is a nonpartisan 501(c)3 nonprofit working to help states transition to a zero-emissions economy. It advances state climate policy through its State Climate Policy Network, connecting over 15,000 advocates and policymakers, and through its State Climate Policy Dashboard, a leading data platform for up-to-date state climate policy information across all US states and major climate sectors.

Climate XChange EV Raffle rules summary

  • Must be 18 or older to enter.
  • Tickets are available at CarbonRaffle.org/Electrek.
  • Only 5,000 tickets will be sold.
  • Grand Prize Drawing on February 28, 2025.

All proceeds support Climate XChange’s work to push for ambitious climate policy – so even if you don’t win, you’re still making a difference.

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